#DigitalDialogue with Ledi Mandreja from TUF Group

Ledi, please tell us a bit about yourself: how did you get into the metals and mining industry?

I am originally from North Albania - the main part of the country, where the chrome ore mines and the ferrochrome plants are located. I grew up always hearing about the chrome ore and the ferrochrome and the importance of them in the steel production segment. 

Nowadays, it is always a pleasure for me when we discuss about the material: how it is extracted from the mine and the process in the plants to produce the end product in Albania, mainly high carbon FeCr.

What is TUF Group particularly known for and how much has TUF Group grown over the years?

Tuf Group's history started 20 years ago in a small office in Delhi where the company started supplying raw materials to the steel plants and now we serve the steel & metal industry with required raw materials through our global network with parent company located in India (Head office in Delhi, manufacturing facilities in Kolkata & Vizag), subsidiaries located in Dubai (trading & manufacturing in Jebel Ali), Düsseldorf (Germany), Johannesburg (SA), Lusaka (Zambia) and representative offices in Karachi (Pakistan) and Cairo (Egypt).

From 2018, with the subsidiary in Düsseldorf, we are REACH registered for the bulk alloys that made us able to supply to steel plants and distributors in Europe on DDP basis. Over the years we will see TUF Group also being a producer of ferroalloys with our low carbon ferrochrome plant in Vizag ( India ) that is almost ready to start the production, another chrome alloy base plant in Oman, and several other projects that we have already started in the Middle East.

What are the challenges of a seller in the steel industry today?

Since last year, the main challenge of the sellers has been the logistics, from finding containers in the vessels that sometimes obligate you to roll over the shipment to very high prices that the shipping lines are charging us. Not to mention, the problem of the truck drivers and high increase of the oil prices.

What role do digital tools play in your daily work?

The relationship between the companies and the digital tools in 2022 is very strong and I think will be stronger in the upcoming years. We have got a big advantage of using digital tools during the Covid-19 period where it was impossible to travel and meet clients and partners, we discovered an opportunity to work from home. Every trade from the beginning starts with a mail and then the e-invoices and contracts. If we did not have digitalization in the business, the expansion of the companies worldwide would not be possible.

In what ways can digital solutions like Metalshub support you?

Metalshub is becoming a very important digital tool in our industry giving us the opportunity to reach new customers and expand our market in new territories. Also with the digital contract that once both parties accept the , you directly have the contract in your hands.

And I wish that over the years, Metalshub will become a full interactive supply chain tool where the deals will be made from A to Z including insurance, logistics/transport, finance, etc.

Thank you, Ledi, for taking your time to talk with us and your kind wishes for Metalshub. We are more than happy to have you among our users and grow together.

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