A+R Profilstahl is far more than just another steel trader. The Baden-based specialist has built a reputation over decades on a simple principle: real partnership at eye level. With a well-established team of around 17 employees, A+R supplies profile steel, sheets, tubes, bar steel and fasteners to customers in Germany, Europe and beyond, for hidden champions, market leaders and infrastructure projects such as construction for Deutsche Bahn, the expansion of the power grid and wind energy plants. The company combines deep market knowledge with creative problem-solving and, as part of its sustainability strategy, has committed itself to the topic of green steel.
The Challenge: CBAM compliance for a lean steel trader
As a steel wholesaler importing iron and steel products, A+R Profilstahl sits right at the centre of CBAM's scope. Every shipment of profile steel, every batch of fasteners from a non-EU origin triggers reporting obligations and, soon, cost obligations under the regulation. But unlike large steel groups with their own compliance departments, A+R had to tackle CBAM requirements with a lean team in which everyone already wears multiple hats.
The challenges were twofold. First: the sheer administrative effort of quarterly CBAM reporting (capturing import volumes, mapping them to the correct CN codes and producing compliant reports for the EU portal) threatened to consume a disproportionate amount of time in a 17-person organisation. Second: supplier communication. Reaching out to steel producers and mills to collect emissions data, managing authorisation processes and making sure the right notifications reach the right people at the right time required a structured system that simply did not exist before kolum.
The Decision for kolum
A+R chose kolum after a thorough evaluation process. The deciding factors were kolum's CBAM expertise, the intuitive software, flexibility in shaping the collaboration and a clear division of responsibilities: kolum stands behind the correctness of the software, while A+R remains responsible for the quality of data entry. This transparent partnership model fit A+R's company culture of collaboration at eye level.
The Solution in Practice
Since onboarding in Q4 2025, kolum has become the central hub for A+R's CBAM operations. The platform takes over the entire reporting workflow, from import data capture through report generation to upload, drastically reducing the manual effort that would otherwise have fallen on the small team.
One focus was on supplier communication and authorisation management. kolum's structured workflows allow A+R to systematically invite suppliers onto the platform, manage data-sharing authorisations and send standardised notifications, replacing ad-hoc email chains with a traceable, digital process.
kolum's customer success team worked closely with A+R to develop clear communication templates that reduce confusion on the supplier side and improve response rates. Reporting automation has also proven itself: reports are generated and uploaded on time, with built-in confirmation workflows so the team can be sure that submissions are complete and compliant.
Results So Far
Reporting efficiency for a lean team
Automated CBAM report generation and upload frees up the small team to focus on their core business of steel trading and customer relationships.
Structured supplier engagement
Standardised communication templates and authorisation workflows have replaced unstructured email processes and improved response rates and data quality.
Significantly less manual effort
Automating report uploads and data handling has measurably reduced administrative overhead across the team.
Outlook
A+R Profilstahl and kolum are focused on deepening their collaboration in several areas. Expanding supplier onboarding: bringing more steel producers and mills onto the kolum platform to collect actual emissions data, replace expensive default values and work towards verified data coverage.
Cost forecasting for procurement: as certificate trading approaches in 2027, A+R will use kolum's cost modelling tools to understand the financial impact of CBAM across the import portfolio and adjust pricing strategies accordingly.
Green steel alignment: A+R's existing commitment to climate-neutral steel fits naturally into CBAM's objectives. As verified emissions data becomes available through kolum, the company can quantify the actual carbon advantage of sourcing green steel and turn sustainability ambitions into measurable competitive differentiation.
For a specialised steel trader like A+R Profilstahl, CBAM compliance is not about bureaucracy but about maintaining the speed, precision and reliability their customers expect. kolum ensures that regulatory obligations are handled with the same professionalism A+R brings to every tonne of steel.