Group history
40 years of history, following trends and business opportunities. Transformation as a key of success.
40 years of history, following trends and business opportunities. Transformation as a key of success.
a 40 years journey
Across 4 phases and transformations: from 1979 to 2019
1979
Duferco is a “pure steel trader” covering with increasing success a Global presence and profitable business operations.
1979 Bruno Bolfo, Chairman of the Board, and a group of other steel professionals to exploit the advantages of “emerging markets” in steel production established Duferco. Based in New York and Sao Paulo, Brazil, the Company, through its relationship with local steel producers, quickly became the leading independent exporter of Brazilian steel throughout the World.
In the early 1980s, using its success in Brazil as a springboard, Duferco began to source steel products in other Countries. Firstly in other South American Countries, with its largest success in Argentina, Venezuela and Mexico, than in North America and Europe, with the first European office opening in London in 1981 and a chain of offices during the late 1980s. After Thailand, the Company opened offices in Taiwan, the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and South Korea.
1996
Duferco is an International “industrial player” implementing a significant acquisition campaign (of industrial units) in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Russia, USA, South Africa and Central America.
In the mid-1990s, the Company opened a large number of offices in Eastern Europe, putting in place an infrastructure in anticipation of the growth of the area as an export market. Duferco also launched ancillary trading operations in the field of raw materials primarily related to the steel industry, such as coke, coal, iron ore, scrap, pig iron, D.R.I. and related products, maximizing its contacts with steel producers throughout the World.
The abilty of the Duferco’s key-pepole lead the Company to exploit two occurrences in the mid-1990s in Europe as true growth-opportunities.
This long, exciting and intense phase ended in 2011 with the disposal of the shareholding or the controlling stake of the majority of the Industrial Units, in favor of a new horizon made of Energy.
2011
The Duferco Group face a new phase of its history as a “Vertically integrated Steel and Energy trader”.
Following the intuition of its key-manager, Duferco disposed the steel production and founded Duferco Energia SpA, to manage the growing corporate investments in the renewable energy production, and to lead the commercialization of Energy and Gas in the Italian Market.
Today Retail Operations became part of a portfolio of activities that includes significant projects in the Renewable Power Production, as well as Renewable Power Origination.
2015
In 2015, the Group decided to sell the majority of its steel trading arm, Duferco International Trading Holding SA (DITH) to Hesteel Group (formerly named Hebei Iron & Steel Group), the largest steel producer in China.
While maintaining a significant minority stake in DITH, Duferco has strategically decided to leave its historical core business and focus on its new diversified operations.
Following the disposal of the controlling stake of the steel trading arm to Hesteel Group, sees Duferco as a diversified investor with main focus on three areas:
The legacy with the past and the ability to capture fundamental trends in the business is a key heritage that has been deeply consolidated into the mind-set of the “people of Duferco” over the years and that is now going to be the basis for the future developments of the Group.
TODAY
With a very positive result in 2018, Duferco Group is showing strong capability in mastering its four business areas both distinctly and enhancing synergies and connections between them.
Embracing innovation and digitization, the Group is investing in new advanced tools (machine learning, AI, IoT, etc. …) and in a growing digital task force.
Increasing investments in R&D, boost of cross-fertilization and synergies between business areas are our goals for next few years, leveraging on Group’s ability to manage joint-venture alliances.