Articles - Sustainability
A few months ago we gave the R&D team a challenge. Is galvanised steel still up to the task? That simple question marked the beginning of the Neomel story.
At first glance, it felt rhetorical. Mild steel has long been a staple – affordable, functional, and durable. But as we gathered around the stand-up desk looking over sketches of complex landscape forms and custom edging details, we realised the question wasn’t about cost or tradition. It was about performance under pressure – in the real world, not the brochure.
So, we stood back and watched the team set out to answer it – not in theory, but by putting the material through its paces. What followed was a deep dive into the material science, formability, and lifecycle realities of steel finishes. What we discovered reshaped how we use steel for raised planter edging entirely – and gave rise to the full Neomel story.
We started where most projects do: mild steel. It’s a known quantity – mild steel coated in zinc before any shaping begins. On paper, it ticked plenty of boxes. Structurally efficient? Yes. Corrosion-resistant? Yes. Easy to handle and available? Absolutely.
We’ve produced literally thousands of miles of edge over the years. The finish looks great. The PPC layer gives colour flexibility and design control.
But the moment you started welding elements things get interesting.
The welds tell a different story. Over the years we’ve been well aware that the heat from welding burns through the zinc coating, leaving raw steel exposed. That’s when corrosion creeps in. It’s insignificant, won’t affect the structure and is barely noticeable once it has been powder coated and installed.
The industry coats welds with a zinc-rich primer as a fix, but coverage was inconsistent, especially on complex geometries. It added time, labour, and a sense of patchwork to what should have been a seamless design.
We were done brushing this small secret under the carpet. We needed something better.
Just as we were gearing up for another round of corrosion trials, a chance introduction led us to a batch of coated steel that behaved unlike anything we’d seen.
This wasn’t just another coated steel – it was engineered differently. R&D called it Neomel.
From the outset, things were different. We stress tested components. It passed every test we threw at it – accelerated weathering, salt spray, high-impact abrasion – without breaking a sweat. The alloy coating formed a self-healing, passive barrier – even at cut edges. And with that discovery, the Neomel story moved from promising alternative to clear front-runner.
Neomel is now Logic’s choice for raised planter edging and seating substructures. We can still do mild steel – we have for the past decade – but Neomel makes more sense.
There is little or no aesthetic difference. Since both Neomel and mild steel are powder coated, the aesthetic remains the same; samples of each show no recognisable differences or features.
We’re in design and construction. Cost is a huge factor, and no new material, no matter how innovative, will evade the cost question.
At first glance, Neomel carries a modest premium over standard mild steel sheet. But as the team ran lifecycle models – factoring in labour for post-weld touch-ups and coating schedules – the extra upfront spend began to look more like an investment than an added expense. In one recent project analysis, the material premium translates into a barely noticeable increase overall. (Want to see some project-specific numbers? Contact estimating@logic-bespoke.com).
There’s still a place for mild steel. For flat-panel installations in controlled environments, it remains a smart choice.
But for designers and makers who thrive on pushing forms, integrating structure into the landscape, and delivering enduring finishes – Neomel was the answer we didn’t know we needed.
So, is mild steel worth it? That depends. If your project is simple – maybe.
We found a better way forward. And that journey started not with a spec sheet, but with a question: Can we do better?
Turns out, we can. And that’s the Neomel story.
Neomel vs Mild Steel? How does it stack up?
Read the article here
