Published Thursday, Oct. 29, 1998 That is the first sentence in Bruno Bolfo's message in the company's fiscal 1997 annual report ended Sept. 30, 1997. Bolfo is chairman of the Swiss company that is dickering with Caparo Steel Co. to buy equipment at Caparo's Farrell steel plant.
Duferco executives based in the U.S. did not immediately return phone calls on Tuesday.
Best known as a steel trading company, Duferco's trading sales volume in 1997 was more than $2.577 million. Over the years the company has focused its trading business exclusively on the steel industry.
Main items of trading for the company are in steel products such as tin plate, special steels, and raw materials including coal, coke, scrap, iron ore and pig iron, all used by the steel industry.
Buying product directly from a pool of more than 150 producers throughout the world, Duferco then resells the items to more than 3,000 customers.
Duferco is sticking to its strategy of staying in the steel business, but more recently it has been reaching out to steel production and processing in the steel business. Last year the company signed a contract for a construction of joint venture steel rolling plant in South Africa which expects to process 650,000 tons of steel annually.
Employing more than 500 in 40 offices throughout the world, the company was created in 1979 by steel professionals. Duferco at first concentrated its operations in Brazil where it became the leading exporter of Brazilian steel. From there the company branched out into sourcing steel products from other countries in South America and then into North America, Europe and the Far East.
More recently the company started trading steel through eastern European steel mills.
At the same time Duferco began buying and selling raw materials for steel production throughout the world. The company has set a goal of doubling its sales and related profits over the next three to four years.
