Outokumpu Oyj

The loan has been provided for financing investments in the group’s stainless steel plant in Avesta, Sweden. The investments will help increase the annual finished product output capacity of the Avesta plant from the current 250,000 tonnes to some 650,000 tonnes. This will allow boosting the share of high-value-added products in the Outokumpu group’s sales. The main increase will be in high quality-duplex and lean duplex-steel grades, which are seeing an annual market growth of on average 20%.

Outokumpu is the world’s technology and market leader in duplex steel grade production. The group’s main production base is concentrated in Finland and Sweden. Outokumpu also has production facilities in the UK and the US.

In order to reach the planned production capacity, an additional argon-oxygen decarburisation converter will be constructed, and the annealing and pickling capacity of hot- and cold-rolled strips will be increased. Apart from these major changes, a new slab grinding facility will replace the present plant. Outokumpu will also build a new cold rolling strip mill, a new plant for the regeneration of used pickling acid and a new natural gas supply station.

Compared with the present concession levels, the solicited production volumes will result in a limited increase in emissions of carbon dioxide, dust and nitrogen oxides. Emissions of metal to water will increase slightly. Emissions of nutrients will be reduced considerably due to the introduction of improved operating principles.

The project has to comply with national and EU laws and regulations and all the requirements outlined in the relevant environmental court rulings.