HELSINKI, Finland, Dec. 27, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Metso Corporation (NYSE:MX).
Metso Paper has acquired Raisio Chemicals' minority holding of Valmet-Raisio and now owns the company completely. Before the acquisition Metso Paper's holding was 51%. The acquisition price was EUR 10 million.
Valmet-Raisio's special expertise in water and chemical systems management is crucial to the development of new paper machine solutions. For environmental and other reasons, wet end and coating chemicals management in papermaking has been an essential part of the solutions jointly developed by Metso and Raisio. These solutions ensure the recovery and re-use of chemicals used in the manufacturing process. In the future Metso Paper will develop water and chemical system management in parallel with the other solutions it has developed to lower environmental impact.
Valmet-Raisio specializes in chemical and water systems for the pulp and paper industry and is one of the world's leading companies in its field. The company's net sales in 2000 were EUR 31 million and it employed about 100 persons. The company has operations at Raisio and Valkeakoski in Finland, Oberhaching in Germany, Atlanta in the USA, Sao Paolo in Brazil, and Beijing in China.
Metso Corporation (NYSE:MX) is a global supplier of process industry machinery and systems. Metso's core businesses are divided between Metso Paper (fiber and paper technology), Metso Minerals (rock and mineral processing) and Metso Automation (automation and control technology). In 2000, the net sales of Metso Corporation were EUR 3.9 billion, and the personnel totaled approximately 22,000. Metso Corporation is listed on the Helsinki and New York Stock Exchanges.
Metso completed its offer for Svedala Industri AB on September 14, 2001. Svedala is a global supplier of products and services for rock and mineral processes. Metso's and Svedala's combined net sales are approximately EUR 5,400 million (in 2000) and the amount of personnel is approximately 32,000.