Five steel purchasing groups have been working together since September under the name astedis (association of steel distributors). The cooperation agreement for the network was signed at a meeting in Paris at the end of August.
The founding partners of astedis include the steel purchasing company Coalsider from Spain, the purchasing group European Steel Group in Poland, the German purchasing group Nordwest, Sider Center from Italy and Socoda from France. In total, the five current purchasing companies are responsible for a purchasing volume of approximately 3.5 million tons of steel products. The new network represents a total of over 200 medium-sized steel trading companies.
Cooperation to strengthen trade
According to a press release, the members are convinced that the strategic cooperation between astedis and the most important European manufacturers will strengthen and consolidate steel distribution. The corporate groups should continue to operate completely independently in the national market and mutually respect the particular characteristics of the markets. The aim of the cooperative network is to be the sales reference for the most important European producers and to build strategic working relationships with all important European manufacturers.
“The idea of the cooperative network came across a mutually trusting basis around two years ago and has developed expediently over the period. The partners' success is based on the shared ethical values that they agreed on from the start. These values are of fundamental importance for the activities of all companies involved,” explain Claudio Kemper and Christopher Rüther, both heads of the steel division at Nordwest Handel AG.
The cooperation also wants to jointly face future challenges and changes in the steel market, which include topics such as digitalization, changing procurement markets and green steel.
