Larox Corporation Company announcement 9.5.2008 at 10 am Larox plans to buy Turku Ceramics Oy Larox Corporation and the owners of Turku Ceramics Oy have signed a letter of intent by which the entire capital stock of Turku Ceramics Oy will be transferred to the ownership of Larox Corporation. The parties concerned aim at realizing the transaction by 30 June 2008. The seller and the buyer have agreed not to publish the acquisition price. Turku Ceramics Oy production facilities are located in Turku and the company is the only manufacturer of technical ceramics in Finland. The company concentrates mainly on subcontract manufacturing of highly tailored parts and components designed by the customers. Durable high tech ceramics are used more and more to replace conventional materials in challenging conditions of machine and chemical process industries. In 2007 net sales of Turku Ceramics Oy totaled EUR 3.4 million and the number of personnel was 26. ”Most of Turku Ceramics' production is sold to domestic machine manufacturers, e.g. to Larox, but the end users are often abroad. The company also exports directly to the Nordic countries, Central Europe and the Far East”, says Mr. Jerry Kulmala, Managing director of Turku Ceramics Oy. ”Larox uses ceramic plates supplied by Turku Ceramics as filter elements in disc filters. Their markets especially in the mining industry are growing strongly. Through this acquisition we believe to be able to answer better the challenges of the growth”, says Mr. Topi Karppanen, President & CEO of Larox Corporation. Larox Corporation Topi Karppanen President & CEO For further information: Topi Karppanen Tel.+358 (0) 20 7687210 Fax. +358(0) 20 7687277 topi.karppanen@larox.com Jerry Kulmala Tel. +358 2 275 6400 Fax. +358 2 275 6420 jerry.kulmala@turkuceramics.fi Distribution OMX Nordic Exchange in Helsinki, Central media Larox develops, designs and manufactures industrial filters and is a leading technology company in its field. Larox is a full service solution provider in filtration for separating solids from liquids. It supplies comprehensive aftermarket services throughout the lifespan of the Larox solution. Companies world-wide in mining and metallurgy, chemical processing and related industries benefit from the Larox technologies. Larox operates in over 40 countries and has over 460 employees. Larox Group is headquartered in Lappeenranta, Finland where the Group also has production facilities. Net sales in 2007 totaled 158.3 million euros, of which more than 95 % were generated by exports and the company's foreign operations.