- Fifty distributors under contract and some 600 registered customers in Europe and the United States on the platform - fivefold increase in number of distributors within one year

- Range expanded to around 20,000 different products

Duisburg/Berlin, Germany, December 12, 2019 - XOM Materials, the independent industry platform launched by Klöckner & Co, has brought its 50th distributor on board. This marks a fivefold increase in the number of distributors - from ten to 50 companies - within a single year. No fewer than 33 of the 50 distributors who have been signed in Europe and the United States are already selling on the platform. In total, these 50 distributors generate a total of more than €20 billion in sales annually, which are to be partially digitized via the platform.

Gisbert Rühl, CEO of Klöckner & Co SE: "We at Klöckner & Co have been successfully driving the digitalization of the steel industry for over five years. The independent industry platform XOM Materials is a key component in this process. XOM Materials will revolutionize the distribution of steel and metals not only in Europe, but also in the USA. This shows that Germany and Europe still have great potential in the B2B sector. We must not just wait and see, but act."

Marek Sacha, CEO of XOM Materials: "XOM Materials has achieved impressive growth in the past year. Although we are still at an early stage in our journey, we are on course to become the leading vertical platform for steel, other metals and plastics. We will revolutionize the materials industry of the future with our digital processes."

XOM Materials has further extended its range to include around 20,000 different products and also offers plastic products to its registered customers, who number around 600 in all. In addition, the XOM Materials platform will be complemented by e-shops and e-procurement solutions in the future. XOM Materials is expanding not only its product portfolio but also its international footprint, having signed ten distributors onto the platform in Spain alone.

In signing its 50th distributor, XOM Materials has reached a major milestone in its still short history. XOM Materials was founded in Berlin in 2017 with the aim of creating a procurement platform for all the products and services associated with the materials industry. March 2018 marked the official market launch of the XOM Materials platform. This was followed by the opening of two additional offices: Parts of sales are based in Duisburg, Germany and the facility in Atlanta, Georgia handles activities on the US market.

About XOM Materials:
XOM Materials is the go-to online platform for buying and selling materials such as steel, metals, and plastics. It provides ready-made procurement and sales solutions, eliminating the cost of digitization for buyers and sellers aiming to future-proof their business. XOM enables users to go digital painlessly, without investing in developing an in-house platform. The company was founded by Klöckner & Co in Berlin in 2017. The XOM Materials platform was officially launched in 2018. In addition to Klöckner & Co, two strategic investors have invested in XOM Materials. Today, 50 dealers offer around 600 customers around 20,000 products made of steel, other metals and plastics. XOM Materials has 50 employees in Germany and the USA.

XOM Materials GmbH contact:

Anne-Laure de Noblet
Head of Marketing
Phone: +49 172 586 31 96
E-mail: [email protected]

About Klöckner & Co:
Klöckner & Co is one of the largest producer-independent distributors of steel and metal products and one of the leading steel service companies worldwide. Based on its distribution and service network of around 160 locations in 13 countries, Klöckner & Co supplies more than 100,000 customers. Currently, the Group has around 8,400 employees. Klöckner & Co had sales of some €6.8 billion in fiscal 2018. As a pioneer of change in the steel industry, Klöckner & Co is in the process of digitalizing its entire supply and value chain. In addition, its digital unit, kloeckner.i, is increasingly providing consulting services for external business clients. XOM Materials, an independent venture launched by the Klöckner & Co Group, is geared to develop into the leading industry platform for steel, metal and related products.

The shares of Klöckner & Co SE are admitted to trading on the regulated market segment (Regulierter Markt) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse) with further post-admission obligations (Prime Standard). Klöckner & Co shares are listed in the SDAX^(R) index of Deutsche Börse.

ISIN: DE000KC01000; WKN: KC0100; Common Code: 025808576.

Klöckner & Co SE contact:

Christian Pokropp - Press Spokesperson
Head of External Communications
Phone: +49 203 307-2050
E-mail: [email protected]