Our history
GRADIENT a. s. (Inc.) ranks among foremost trading companies on the market of ferroalloys and alloying metals from the Central and Eastern Europe.
Our experienced team serves clients from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Slovenia, Hungary and Romania and other countries from south-eastern Europe. We are constantly enlarging our customer base by companies from Germany, Italy, France, Benelux and Scandinavia. Among our customers are manufacturing companies (steel works and foundries) and trading companies.
All employees of our company are primarily focused on satisfying the customer's needs, ensuring quality and timely deliveries, perfect communication and providing an excellent service. A high level of each employee's responsibility and flexibility is a substantial element of the company's activity. This activity is supported by a very close co-operation with producers of materials delivered to the customers. Therefore, any requirements regarding non-standard chemical composition, sizes etc. can be reflected.
Such co-operation with suppliers provides conditions for closing of long-term contracts with consumers (LTC). Those contracts guaranties to consumer advantageous conditions for stable deliveries of material with constant chemical composition and secures deliveries even during periods of material shortage. Suppliers of the company are foremost producers of ferroalloys and metals from Kazakhstan, CIS, China, India, South America and South Africa.
Owing to our well-managed logistics combined with our sophisticated financial service an increasing number of both manufacturing and trading companies have been relying on services of the GRADIENT company.
GRADIENT a.s. is a member of ICDA association (International Chromium Development Association).
This association joins all important manufacturing concerns and trading companies dealing in chromium products. Membership in ICDA brings many advantages, especially a superior access to information regarding the chromium alloys market, thus giving us a reasonable head start from the competition.
ISO 9001:2008
In 2002 the quality management system - ISO 9001:2000 standard was implemented and certified in the company.
In 2009 company had been recertified according to ISO 9001:2008 norm. Due to implementation of the system GRADIENT a.s. opened possibilities for deliveries to manufacturing companies, whose customers, especially those involved in car industry, put a great emphasis on certification and quality of the suppliers organizations.
Logistics
Since the beginning of its activity we have developed a system of quality logistic services.
Within this system the customers are provided with a superior service focused on their requirements and needs. As all services related to the logistics are outsourced, a great emphasis is put on selection and quality of providers of these services. Regarding the transport, the deliveries to the customers are carried out via road, railway or vessels.
Packaging
All materials are packaged to comply with the customers’ requirements.
The materials are delivered loose, in steel cases, big-bags or steel drums. A different package may be discussed, if required.
Storage
We have developed a system of warehouses, used for further distribution.
As part of logistic services optimisation we have developed a system of warehouses, used for further distribution of goods to the individual customers. The main warehouses are in Latvia (Riga), CZ ( Bohumin ), Poland (Szczecin), Slovenia (Koper) and in Netherlands (Rotterdam). The other warehouses are use as needed in order to reflect flexibly the requirements of the customer and to prevent delivery delays.
Financing
We have developed a very sophisticated system of providing financial services.
In co-operation with our partners, banks and financial institutions, our company has a very sophisticated system of providing financial services to our customers. This system enables to provide the customers with a supplier credits with various maturities. The conditions of the credit are based on each customer's financial standing. Our co-operation with credit insurance companies covers nearly 90% of the supplier credits.
