For further information, please contact: Per Magnusson, President, ÅF Engineering Division +46 (0)10-505 94 26 Jan-Olof Carlzon, Business Area Manager +46 (0)10-505 55 63 Viktor Svensson, Director, Corporate Information +46 (0)10-505 12 01 ÅF has reached agreement on the acquisition of the technical consulting company VPC Mechanical Design from the Swedish state-owned energy company, Vattenfall. VPC Mechanical Design has 10 employees in Skellefteå in the north of Sweden. VPC Mechanical Design is a well-established consulting company offering qualified engineering services for the mining industry. The company's biggest clients are LKAB and Boliden. The acquisition consolidates ÅF's position as one of the foremost among leading technical consulting companies in the north of Sweden, now with a total of 225 employees in the region. "We are streamlining our business operations, and we believe that the potential for Mechanical Design can be better developed within ÅF," says Christopher Eckerberg, Manager for Vattenfall Engineering. "ÅF is focusing on the mining industry, so I'm convinced that our clients will appreciate the fact that this acquisition will make us an even stronger supplier of engineering services and expertise," says Per Magnusson, Divisional President for ÅF Engineering. ÅF AB Corporate Information ÅF is a leader in technical consulting, with expertise founded on more than a century of experience. We offer highly qualified services and solutions for industrial processes, infrastructure projects and the development of products and IT systems. Today ÅF has more than 4,000 employees. Our base is in Europe, but our business and our clients are found all over the world. [HUG#1429763]