Think of Scandinavian design, and your mind fills with images of modern, calm, relaxed spaces that are both functional and fun. Such an atmosphere permeates the offices of HARALD PIHL in Sweden, where the enthusiastic and talented team of professionals lighten up their coffee breaks with laughs over table tennis. It’s a vibrant and cheerful atmosphere that has been created with input from the whole team and in 2022 they have an extra reason to celebrate as it’s the company’s 110th anniversary. Stainless Steel World spoke to Managing Director Jonas Pihl about the people who are at the beating heart of this family-owned company, whose well-being is his top priority.
By Joanne McIntyre, Stainless Steel World
While 2021 was a hugely successful for special metal supplier HARALD PIHL – turnover increased by 300% in Germany and by 200% in China – when Stainless Steel World spoke to Jonas, he was full of enthusiasm for his team and their personal successes. “We’ve always referred to the HARALD PIHL team as a family. Now our focus is on extending that family to include our suppliers and our customers. Usually, during negotiations, you are positioned on opposite sides of the table.
By developing a deeper, cooperative relationship with our partners, we can create beneficial solutions for everyone. It simply requires an openminded approach and straightforward discussions. By keeping the agenda transparent, discussing what we can do for each other and agreeing on how we work together, we can form a long term relationship. For us, this conversation must include important issues such as the environment and human rights, not just prices. If a supplier can help us to meet our needs, we will do business with them forever. These relationships create loyalty because they’re based on integrity and honesty.”
Good people, good company
Integrity and honesty are the cornerstones on which the HARALD PIHL team operate. “My grandfather founded this business 110 years ago this year, and we have always had a strong focus on ethical work practices. We’re only interested in conducting business with honest, reputable suppliers and customers who share our values,” explains Jonas. “We refuse to take shortcuts and we avoid any hint of corruption at all times; how we behave in business is vitally important as it has a lasting effect on so many people around the world. We are an ethical company, and we hope to inspire our family of suppliers and customers to be the same.” “We strongly believe we can have a positive influence in the world by carefully choosing suppliers who share our business values. Every single product we sell is certified, and its origin can be traced to a reputable manufacturer.”
A safe, fun workspace
An inclusive employer of experts
From pink ribbons to Movember
Sustainability and CO2 reduction
Last year HARALD PIHL achieved certification ISO 14001, which specifies the requirements for an environmental management system that an organisation can use to enhance its environmental performance. Environmental performance is a topic close to Jonas’ heart, and he is striving to make his company not just CO2 neutral but actually achieve a CO2 negative status. “It’s hard work, but we are determined. Ultimately our aim is that if you purchase materials from us, it will actually be good for the environment.”
Rapid expansion, global success
The past twelve months has been a time of an unprecedented phase of expansion for HARALD PIHL. “We’ve taken on several high-level professionals to achieve this growth while ensuring the company’s core values and culture are maintained,” explains Jonas, “and are still actively recruiting new team members in all our offices around the globe, from Sweden, Germany and China, to India, Turkey and Vietnam. Our ambition is to be the best in both the ‘soft’ values such as the environment, inclusiveness, etc and the ‘hard’ values such as business deals. Significant investments in digitalisation are helping us to grow and expand across several geographies efficiently.” The German market is one that the company is particularly thriving in. “We felt so confident in the German market that during the Covid pandemic, we opened a purpose-built warehouse and office facility in Krefeld to serve that market with greater efficiency and focus. The Krefeld team increased from five to eleven members in the past year, while turnover increased by 300% – a fantastic result!”
“Looking ahead, we expect to achieve even stronger expansion in the German market in the coming years as we are adding many new alloys and new dimensions of materials to the already extensive inventory. These include our dual stocks of titanium for both premium and industrial applications.” The HARALD PIHL warehouse and office in Suzhou, China, also booked a record year in 2021.
“We’ve seen rapid expansion in our Chinese office, primarily from our aerospace customers. Turnover has increased by over 200% in twelve months and shows no sign of slowing down.”
Largest stock of Ni & Ti alloys in Europe
HARALD PIHL has stocked and trade sheet, plate, strip, bar, wire, tube, pipe and welding material for over a century. Today, its stock includes nickel-based alloys, heat and corrosion resistant alloys, titanium and titanium alloys, copper alloys and stainless steel, among other materials. Jonas is justifiably proud of the company’s track with over 99% of stock materials being delivered on time from their truly enormous stock. “We have the largest stock in Europe, and in these times of supply chain disturbances, it’s important for customers to know they are dealing with a trustworthy company that will always deliver. This creates stability for our customers in uncertain times.”
Facts & Figures
| Name: | HARALD PIHL AB |
| Founded: | 1912 |
| Headquarters: | Taby, Sweden |
| Subsidiaries: | HARALD PIHL GmbH, Germany (sales office, warehouse); HARALD PIHL Suzhou, China (sales office, warehouse); Q-Metal, Denmark Representation by Euraccai s.r.l. in Italy |
| Offices: | China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Norway, Poland, Turkey, UK, Vietnam. |
| Employees: | 52 |
| Products: | Nickel alloys, titanium, stainless steel, welding materials, copper alloys |
| Website: | www.haraldpihl.com |
Excelling in waterjet cutting
HARALD PIHL’s waterjet cutters are a young, highly proficient team that operates with super efficiency. “They have the most complex procedure in the company, yet they achieve it by delivering parts to customers with less than 0,5% error while maintaining a delivery time of just three days,” Jonas says proudly. “I doubt that anyone else in the business can match them.”
“The team operates two waterjet cutters, enabling us to offer customers very short lead times for their orders. Both waterjet cutters work 24/7 providing custom-cut products to our clients.” Abrasive waterjet cutting is an inherently environmentally friendly process. Unlike traditional mechanical cutting systems, waterjet cutting requires no cooling or lubricating oils, so there are no chemically contaminated chips to dispose of. Unlike thermal processes such as plasma or laser, waterjet generates no toxic fumes during the cutting process. The cutting “tools” (water and garnet abrasive) are environmentally benign and available worldwide. The minimal scrap is free of chemical contamination and can be recycled, which results in raw material, energy, and cost savings for recyclable materials such as aluminium, steel, and titanium. “It is of great importance for us to give our customers the best product possible without compromise. A high quality, cost-effective product with minimum impact on the environment is a win-win situation for everyone; us as a company, our customers and the planet.”
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