The world of steel is currently experiencing an unprecedented crisis: globally, many forms of the commodity are either in short supply or not available at all. Small and medium-sized distributors in particular often find themselves in the situation of not being sufficiently supplied by steelworks. In times like these, Verbund can help
ESH EURO STAHL-HANDEL GMBH & CO. KG, or ESH for short, is a subsidiary of E/D/E and focuses exclusively on steel trading.
Around 140 member companies trust ESH with their supplies and information.
In turn, ESH has set itself the task of offering its members the best possible support and transparency in order to always survive in the market – even during a crisis.
Presence on the European market
ESH sees itself as a partner to German SMEs.
In this role, one of the association’s most important tasks is to provide the individual small and medium-sized companies under its umbrella with opportunities that they would not have on their own.
Large, globally active steelworks in particular work with minimum purchase quantities that SMEs are unable or unwilling to meet (see p. 22).
The most important task of ESH is to buy goods in large quantities in bundles. Through economies of scale, members not only receive the best conditions, but also have access to markets that would otherwise be denied to them as medium-sized companies. The goods also come from all over Europe, which means that distributors receive their steel from the continent’s heavyweights and are not limited to the German market.
The steelworks are long-standing contractual partners who attach great importance to consistent trading. This has also proven to be very positive for members during the current raw material shortage (see p. 20/21). Especially in the flat products market, which was particularly affected by the shortage, ESH was able to strengthen its members with high product availability and reliable supply partnerships.
The right knowledge But not only the goods, but also the right time to buy is ESH’s daily business. An eleven-strong team monitors the market and not only offers members daily prices via the digital ESH portal, but also provides crisp analyses and recommendations. Each sector of the steel trade is assigned its own advisor. The team has also recently been expanded to include a specialist for the aluminum and stainless steel sectors. This reflects the increased importance of these markets for the members and the ESH.
However, the rich flow of information does not occur in a vacuum: information from many manufacturers comes together to create a comprehensive picture. This includes global, up-to-date availability, prices and trends. Knowledge on this scale is often only accessible to large steelworks due to their global reach, which they then pass on to their partners, such as ESH (see p. 22). The experts at the ESH aggregate this flow and prepare it for their own member companies.
Up to here – and then even further THE ESH EURO STAHL-HANDEL GMBH & CO. KG WILL continue to improve its services and identity.
As a result, the group has strengthened its digital competencies.
Services such as the daily updated ESH Portal, Business Updates (see p. 18) and data management are part of this development.
In the StahlDigital project, the association is going a little further: ESH is cooperating with experienced webshop developers to enable members to sell their own products digitally in an uncomplicated manner.
The ESH team attaches great importance to the relationship with the member companies. After all, it’s not just steel producers who enjoy long-term cooperation – the production liaison trade also benefits from a trusting relationship between members and the association. For some years now, ESH has been working to forge even closer ties with its own association partners. This includes regular exchanges and – as soon as possible – visits to gain an even better feel for the business and situation of each individual member. The Steel Forum, a guarantee for good presentations and discussions, will also return as an in-person event in September 2022.
Jürgen Laukandt and his team regularly reflect on their own actions and respond to the member companies in an agile manner: “We consider it a real success that the affiliated steel dealers attest to the increased trust and partnership that we enjoy. We are proud of this and will continue to build on it.” [dg]
