For Angelo Medici, the secret to our success is this: «Steelworks and foundries know they can count on us»
Read the interview published on #siderweb – THE STEEL COMMUNITY
CORTE FRANCA (BS) – Just when the interview with Angelo Medici, the CEO at AL.FA Laminati, was taking place, news came through that the President of the Republic had signed a “worksite release” decree proposed by the government: «And this is certainly a good thing – says Medici – because it could give a much needed boost to a market characterised by great uncertainty and a lack of vision in the medium term. The deceleration of activities we have been dealing with also stemmed partly from this aspect».
These are the words of a businessman whose company «is operating at the same volumes and sales levels as in 2018, even if, in the first quarter of the year, we had to contend with a marked drop in prices, while the situation should stabilise itself by May».
But for those who operate mainly with steelworks, there is also another issue they have to deal with: “There is a tendency to “take one’s time” and, sometimes, postponing certain orders, probably not to coincide with periods of possible decreases in production and, from their point of view, therefore optimise them”.
Because AL.FA Laminati “is specialised in the distribution of ferroalloys for the iron and steel industry and, over the years, we have selected the best global producers to guarantee our customers superior quality standards, given that we distribute our ferroalloys directly to steelworks and foundries that make high quality their strong point”, relying on “two large storage warehouses for the storage, equipped with state-of-the-art crushing, screening and packaging technologies, and we have our own transport vehicles in order to offer the customer a comprehensive service”.
Adapting to the market, explains Angelo Medici, “means working hard on the procurement process of the raw materials, fine-tuning a selection strategy that has allowed us to improve our standards, providing a superior quality “just in time” service, with results that demonstrate we made the correct choice”. Especially because “we are able to offer a customised service tailored to meet the demands of each steelworks and foundry, guaranteeing adequate stocks, material in various sizes, swift deliveries and superior quality”. But that’s not all.
Because another route that the company has undertaken in order to react to this particular moment in time, “was to try, and was moreover also successful, to “grow” abroad and with the confirmation that on the other side of the border, as well as greater wealth, there is also the perception of the quality of work, which is remarkably different”. Without forgetting another important aspect: “Payment terms – continues Medici – are decidedly lower than in Italy, we are talking about a third or even half of what we are used to and this obviously means a lot to companies like ours”.
Even if “we must be ready to respond promptly to requests that often demand very rapid deliveries, and sometimes we must face logistic situations that don’t always help us. Because our shipping system is based essentially on road transport, with costs that are naturally higher compared to those by rail”.
AL.FA Laminati will be attending Made in Steel – Stand C13 Hall 22 – because “the opportunity to meet all those who we already deal with in person is exceptionally useful, but it is also important to lay the foundations for possible new collaborations, both in Italy and abroad”.
SOURCE: siderweb.com
AUTHOR: Marco Torricelli
