kl ckner & co se type societas europaea traded as fwb kco industry steel and metal distribution founded 1906 headquarters duisburg germany key people gisbert r hl ceo marcus a. ketter cfo karsten lork member of the board william a. partalis member of the board revenue 6 4 mrd . eur 2015 1 number of employees 9 600 2015 1 website www.kloeckner.com kl ckner & co se commonly abbreviated as kl co with headquarters in duisburg germany is a listed producer independent steel and metal distributor . kl ckner s core business is the sale of steel and non ferrous metals . with an established distribution network and some 200 locations the group serves over 140 000 customers in 14 countries . 2 contents 1 group structure 2 business model 3 market and competitors 4 products and services 5 history 5.1 the beginnings 5.2 further expansion 5.3 new business fields 5.4 world war i 5.5 growth in times of crisis 5.6 in the throes of political upheaval 5.7 new beginnings and the wirtschaftswunder 5.8 international expansion 5.9 focusing on core business 5.10 stock market flotation 5.11 expansive acquisition strategy 5.12 digitalization 6 references 7 external links group structure edit kl ckner & co operates in 14 countries around the world . its business activities are supervised by the management board and the corporate departments of its holding company in duisburg and carried out by the country organizations . the kl ckner & co group comprises the following companies 2 buysmetal n.v. belgium kl ckner & co deutschland gmbh germany becker stahl service gmbh germany kloeckner metals france france kloeckner metals uk united kingdom kloeckner metals ods nederland netherlands metall und service center gmbh austria debrunner koenig holding ag switzerland bewetec ag switzerland kloeckner metals ib rica spain kloeckner metals corporation usa kloeckner metals brasil brasil kloeckner.i gmbh kloeckner.v gmbh kl ckner european operations gmbh kl ckner shared services gmbh business model edit the kl ckner & co group s value chain ranges from procurement and warehousing through a wealth of services all the way to trade and distribution . kl ckner & co also offers its customers consulting services for warehousing processing and logistics . the international distributor operates independently of production . hailing for the most part from the construction industry as well as machinery and mechanical engineering kl ckner & co s customers span the arc from small and medium sized companies to major international corporations . in addition the group supplies intermediate products for the automotive shipbuilding and consumer goods industries . some 75 % of group sales are generated outside germany . 3 market and competitors edit in the north american market kl ckner & co s chief competitors are reliance steel & aluminum co. and ryerson inc. both domiciled in the usa and russel metals inc. in canada . major european competitors are the be group in sweden along with the distribution arms of steel producers salzgitter ag germany ; tata steel uk ; arcelormittal netherlands ; and thyssenkrupp germany . products and services edit the company s product portfolio is divided into the segments long products steel beams for the construction industry flat products sheet for mechanical engineering companies hollow section structural hollow section stainless and quality steel high alloyed round steel bars for machine building aluminum aluminum sectional rods for plant construction and special products such as plastics ironware and accessories . kl ckner & co offers a total of over 200 000 products . alongside unprocessed materials and intermediate products the kl ckner & co group provides services such as cutting and splitting steel strip cutting to length flame cutting and surface treatment . 4 history edit on june 28 1906 the merchant peter kl ckner set up the kl ckner & co trading company in duisburg . the company soon joined the ranks of germany s largest steel distributors with numerous branch offices and a broad array of products . trading underpinned peter kl ckner s enterprises and was at the heart of his industrial empire comprising mills factories and plants . they later evolved to become kl ckner werke ag and kl ckner humboldt deutz ag . the first branch offices were set up way back in 1906 the company s very first year quickly establishing a network of kl ckner & co locations throughout germany . 5 the beginnings edit born in 1863 in koblenz peter kl ckner had already been working in the iron and steel industry for 24 years when the company was founded . he had made a name for himself in the industry through corporate restructuring and investments . with the founding of kl ckner & co in 1906 he created a trading company that was strategically in step with the growing iron and steel industry . in addition to the takeovers already completed kl ckner pursued a course of expansion from the outset . wasting no time he set up further sales offices in cologne and d sseldorf in the year of the company s founding . 6 further expansion edit in 1907 kl ckner opened additional offices in berlin and magdeburg followed in 1909 by hamburg and dresden . in 1911 the new mannheim office covered the southwest and established a connection to the production site in knutange . within just a few years the extensive trade and distribution network had reached a size that made traditional patriarchal management unfeasible . the branch offices were granted the status of independent companies each working for its own account under their own managing director . the range of products also expanded as kl ckner & co added ore trading and raw materials processing to its previous activities pig iron trading and steel production . 6 new business fields edit after the plants in troisdorf and d sseldorf had become firmly anchored within the kl ckner group its companies covered the entire spectrum of industrial production . the trading company served as a connecting link in the production chain which as early as 1912 extended from ore mines to the manufacture of wire and machinery . in 1913 the company entered the scrap dealing business which evolved into an especially lucrative branch of iron and steel trading . 6 world war i edit no sooner had the company arrived at the pinnacle of success than it faced a major setback . on august 1 1914 the german reich declared war on russia . the ramifications of the war dealt industry a serious blow . notably the draft of a great many workers posed a problem for peter kl ckner too . his plant at knutange in lorraine for example had to cut back production drastically during the war years because many italians and poles who had been working there returned to their home countries when the war broke out . despite these setbacks peter kl ckner steadfastly continued to pursue his life s work throughout the war . 6 growth in times of crisis edit kl ckner & co held its ground through the post world war i recession compensating for losses in the steel business by expanding its fields of activity . sales increased . the scrap trade boomed while other business such as trading pitwood coal and chemicals generated additional revenues . in the 1920s and 30s the company opened its first branches in europe south america and north america and set up a special foreign operations department . the steel trader whose business focused chiefly on germany had now grown into a distributor with international operations and a broad product portfolio . dividing the company into kl ckner werke ag and kl ckner & co served to further strengthen the independent nature of the distribution activities . in december 1936 peter kl ckner s business success was overshadowed by an unexpected tragedy waldemar kl ckner s only son and potential successor was killed in a car accident . his place at the helm of the business was filled by another family member g nter henle the husband of peter kl ckner s stepdaughter . 5 in the throes of political upheaval edit following peter kl ckner s death on october 5 1940 g nter henle took over as managing director of the group . due to the company s strategic importance for the german arms industry the kl ckner plants fell under nazi control during the turmoil of the war . after being ousted from his position as managing director of the kl ckner group by the nazis in 1942 henle fled briefly to berlin but soon returned and took over the management of kl ckner & co. even during the nazi regime the trading company remained relatively independent . normal trading however was scarcely possible during the war years see also war economy . 5 new beginnings and the wirtschaftswunder edit after the war the kl ckner group fell under the supervision of the allies . their aim was to break up the large corporation . despite these difficult conditions kl ckner & co managed to make a fresh start surprisingly quickly . like the other kl ckner enterprises the trading company benefited from the rapid upswing in international demand for iron and steel . following the divestiture of kl ckner werke ag and kl ckner humboldt deutz ag in the 1950s kl ckner evolved into a strongly diversified organization . steel sales in germany were very profitable during the wirtschaftswunder years . foreign branches bolstered international business . kl ckner seized the opportunities the booming economy offered in other industries too broadening its spectrum from plastics to heating oil and from the maritime industry to burner technology . 5 international expansion edit after the wirtschaftswunder era kl ckner responded to fundamental changes in the steel market by offering more services reorganizing its warehouses and stepping up international trading operations . the company expanded other trading areas alongside its core business of steel distribution and tapped into new fields of business . diversification and international expansion proved sound strategies through the economic ups and downs of the 1970s and 80s keeping the group on a steady path to success over two decades . then in the late 1980s a failed crude oil futures contract plunged the company into a crisis that threatened its very existence . the losses incurred through this speculation decimated the company s capital base the oil debacle costing 600 million deutschmarks . peter henle who was responsible for the business segment concerned accepted the consequences and resigned from the group s management . deutsche bank came to the rescue providing 400 million deutschmarks to cover the losses and thus staving off bankruptcy . for kl ckner fundamental restructuring was now the order of the day . deutsche bank took over the company and transformed it into a joint stock company . for the first time in its history stretching back over 80 years kl ckner was no longer a family run business . as part of the rescue package ownership of the tradition steeped enterprise was transferred to viag . under the new management the 1990s saw kl ckner evolve into a contemporary international distribution specialist operating in areas such as steel pc products chemicals textiles and tent systems . kl ckner significantly expanded its international presence in steel during these years . 5 focusing on core business edit in spring 1997 kl ckner announced its decision to retrain the focus on its core business steel and metal distribution . this move was brought to life with a new logo featuring the kl ckner & co dog and the slogan multi metal distribution which are still the face of the company today . as kl ckner continued to expand its stockholding steel distribution in europe it set about divesting those segments that were no longer part of the group s core business . in 1997 kl ckner & co spun off the textiles activities to a non consolidated