In April 1874, entrepreneur Heinrich Gratenau founds his own company with 240 Marks of equity. His initial business with butter, ham and coal does not meet the expectations. When his brother August joins the company they both soon turn to the Scandinavian wood business in which they see good opportunities.
The newly started wood trade is established as a firm pillar of the business. In the following years, the company grows steadily and starts the business with pulp already in 1890. The company H&A Gratenau survives both World Wars and starts its overseas business in the 1950s. The merger with the paper and office supply agent “Karl Hesselbacher”, which was founded in 1880, takes place in 1974 and forms the “Gratenau & Hesselbacher” Group.
Who are we – G&H today
Our team is proud to successfully combine Hanseatic trading tradition with modern management. Today, G&H sees itself as a full-service provider with innovative products in its traditional sectors of wood, pulp, paper and board.
For our suppliers: Market development, sales, logistics, financing, risk management
For our customers: Sourcing, just-in-time supply, financing, product and project consulting
For our customers we search and find new effective suppliers. This includes existing, as well as new and innovative products.
For our suppliers we develop worldwide new and growing markets by utilizing our existing infra-structure and strategic sales alliances.
We offer our international customers a broad logistic service caring for all their needs:
We can finance each link of the supply chain and assume where necessary logistics-credit and other market risks.