Outokumpu Oyj Press release March 28, 2007
Outokumpu to invest in customer service and special products
Growth and increasing the share of special grades are embedded in Outokumpu's
strategy. In line with the strategy and Outokumpu's Year of Commercial
initiatives the Board of Directors has today approved two investments. A new
Service Center will be established in Poland to take advantage of the fast
growing Eastern European stainless steel market and the investment in Thin Strip
Nyby will shift the plant's product mix towards more value added special grades.
Both of the now approved investments are within the earlier communicated capex
frame of EUR 175 million for 2007.
New stainless steel Service Center to be set up in Poland
To service the growing Eastern European market Outokumpu has decided to set up a
new stainless steel Service Center in Southern Poland near Katowice. The
operation will be a combination of a Coil Service Center with slitting and
cut-to-length lines, together with a Plate Service Center with plasma and water
jet cutting. The selected site near Katowice is connected to the region with
optimal road and rail connection. The Service Center will serve Poland and other
countries in the region like Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary and will
challenge new potential markets in Eastern Europe. The total investment is some
EUR 20 million and the Service Center is scheduled to be operational by the end
of 2008.
Says Jan Myczkowski, General Manager - Outokumpu Poland: “Outokumpu has a
long-standing presence in Poland and in the region and has until now served the
market through sales companies. Now the setting up of the new Service Center
will enable us to take advantage of the growing market, both related to the
volume and added value products. The state-of-the-art facility will enable us to
execute the company vision - to be the undisputed number one in stainless - in
Eastern Europe, as well.“
Increasing stainless steel special grades capacity in Nyby, Sweden
The other investment is for surface grinding and automatic storage and retrieval
equipment in the Thin Strip Nyby works in Sweden. The equipment will be housed
in a new building, and will expand Nyby's share of special grades sales at the
expense of standard grade products. The EUR 27 million investment will allow the
plant to double its stainless steel special grades capacity of cold rolled
products from 34 000 to 64 000 tons annually, to take advantage of the fast
growing special grades market. The full capacity will be released by the end of
2008. Following this, a further investment is planned to add finishing annealing
equipment to bring the total special grades capacity of Thin Strip Nyby to
70 000 tons annually by mid 2010.
Says Jamie Allan, Senior Vice President - Thin Strip: “This investment allows
Thin Strip Nyby to focus on the fast growing special grades market and at the
same time remove the overlap with Outokumpu's Tornio Works in standard grade
products. The investment aligns with the Group strategy of growth in special
grades and direct sales to end-users.”
Further information:
Jan Myczkowski, General Manager - Outokumpu Sp. z o.o.
Mobile +48 602 725 766, e-mail jan.myczkowski@outokumpu.com
Jamie Allan, Senior Vice President - Thin Strip Business Unit,
Mobile +46 70 674 9210, e-mail jamie.allan@outokumpu.com
Eero Mustala, Senior Vice President - Corporate Communications,
Mobile +358 40
504 5146, email eero.mustala@outokumpu.com