Outokumpu
Encyclopedia
Outokumpu is a group of companies headquartered
in Espoo
, Finland
, aimed at stainless steel
. The company has approx. 8 000 employees in about 30 different countries worldwide. For several decades Outokumpu was known mainly as a mining and metallurgical company, but now the only operational mine is in Kemi
for chromium
ore, which is directly used to produced ferrochrome
for an input of the stainless steel production.
, in Northern Karelia. The company was established to develop the now-exhausted mine. In the 1940s the company developed the flash smelting
process for smelting copper.
In 1992 British Steel Stainless merged with the Swedish firm Avesta (as in Avesta Municipality
) to form Avesta Sheffield, and in 2001 merged with Outokumpu, making it the third largest stainless steel producing company in the world at the time. The new company was owned by Corus Group
, institutional Swedish investors and the Finnish company Outokumpu. The new company was named AvestaPolarit, with headquarters in Stockholm. In 2004 Outokumpu bought the shares owned by Corus, so AvestaPolarit became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Outokumpu Group. AvestaPolarit was also removed from the stock exchanges in Helsinki and in Stockholm, since there was now only one company named Outokumpu with its headquarters in Espoo.
Until ca 2000 the turnover of copper products was bigger than that of the stainless steels products. The copper branch, excluding the Copper Tube and Brass division, was sold in 2005. Currently this company (former Outokumpu Copper) is known as Luvata International. The zinc branch was merged with the Swedish company Boliden
but later, in 2005, Outokumpu sold all Boliden shares. The coldrolling mill in Sheffield was closed on the 31st March 2008, as one of the consequences of the company-wide fixed cost reduction (by 10%). The meltshop in Sheffield continues producing material for long products. The Copper tube and Brass division was sold to Cupori Group Oy in April 2008
At the end of September 2001, Outokumpu Technology finalized the Lurgi Metallurgie
acquisition. In June 2006, Outokumpu Technology was spun off
as a separate entity Outotec
.
has a long history in steelmaking, just like Sheffield in the UK. There is a melting shop, hot rolling for heavy plates, hot rolling for 2000 mm width coils by Steckel-mill and cold rolling mills.
Avesta has developed many special stainless steel grades, high-alloy austenitic and duplex grades, optimised for good formability, weldability and high corrosion resistance.
was founded in 1829 by Adolf Zethelius
, but ironworking on the site is first documented already in the 15th century when the Bishop of nearby Strängnäs
founded hammer forges by the waterfall near Nyby. Nyby has long since abandoned ordinary steel in favour of cold rolled Stainless steel
, concentrating heavily on special grades.
on the coast of Gulf of Bothnia
. Tornio Works produces hot rolled and cold rolled coils and sheets cut from coil, with an annual output of one million tonnes. The main marketing area is EU. Up to 85 pct of the products are exported all around the world. Tornio site consists of ferrochromium smelting, two steelmeltingshops, hot rolling mill and two cold rolling mills. The steel works were built in 1975–1976. The first stainless cast was made in May 1976, week 19, thus it has got the heat number 61901. An alleged money laundering controversy related to export practices to Russia involving Tornio works is being reviewed by the District Court of Kymenlaakso in Kouvola since 22 March 2011. ML Tornio Court Hearings
, in Sheffield
, Stocksbridge
and Blackburn.
In 1950 Firth Vickers and Samuel Fox set up a joint works for cold rolling stainless steel at Shepcote Lane, Sheffield (government restrictions prevented both firms importing the equipment from the USA). In 1967 the industry was nationalised, with the stainless steel operation of the business subsequently being branded as British Steel Stainless
. Firth Vickers previously marketing their Stainless steel under the "Staybrite" brand.
In 2005, it was announced that the cold-rolling and finishing units (Coil Products Sheffield) on Shepcote Lane were to close, with the loss of over 600 jobs. Production ceased in the first half of 2006. However the company still has operations in the UK including a melting shop, special strip cold rolling and finishing, bar rolling and UK distribution.
At the end of March 2008 production ceased at its Stocksbridge site, the work transferring to its Meadowhall site so ending about 80 years of rolling razor strip at Stocksbridge.
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
in Espoo
Espoo
Espoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is . It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen....
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, aimed at stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
. The company has approx. 8 000 employees in about 30 different countries worldwide. For several decades Outokumpu was known mainly as a mining and metallurgical company, but now the only operational mine is in Kemi
Kemi
Kemi is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located very near the city of Tornio. It was founded in 1869 by royal decree, because of its proximity to a deep water harbour....
for chromium
Ferrochrome
Ferrochrome is an alloy of chromium and iron containing between 50% and 70% chromium.The ferrochrome is produced by electric arc melting of chromite, an iron magnesium chromium oxide and the most important chromium ore. Most of the world's ferrochrome is produced in South Africa, Kazakhstan and...
ore, which is directly used to produced ferrochrome
Ferrochrome
Ferrochrome is an alloy of chromium and iron containing between 50% and 70% chromium.The ferrochrome is produced by electric arc melting of chromite, an iron magnesium chromium oxide and the most important chromium ore. Most of the world's ferrochrome is produced in South Africa, Kazakhstan and...
for an input of the stainless steel production.
History
In 1908, a large deposit of copper ore was discovered in OutokumpuOutokumpu, Finland
Outokumpu is a town and municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....
, in Northern Karelia. The company was established to develop the now-exhausted mine. In the 1940s the company developed the flash smelting
Flash smelting
Flash smelting is a smelting process for sulfur-containing ores including chalcopyrite. The process was developed by Outokumpu in Finland and first applied at the Harjavalta plant in 1949 for smelting copper ore. It has also been adapted for nickel and lead production.The process uses the...
process for smelting copper.
In 1992 British Steel Stainless merged with the Swedish firm Avesta (as in Avesta Municipality
Avesta Municipality
Avesta Municipality is one of 290 municipalities of Sweden. It is in Dalarna County, in central part of the country, and its seat is in the town Avesta....
) to form Avesta Sheffield, and in 2001 merged with Outokumpu, making it the third largest stainless steel producing company in the world at the time. The new company was owned by Corus Group
Corus Group
Tata Steel Europe is a multinational steel-making company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest steel-maker in Europe and is a subsidiary of Tata Steel of India, one of the ten largest steel producers in the world.Corus Group was formed through the merger of Koninklijke...
, institutional Swedish investors and the Finnish company Outokumpu. The new company was named AvestaPolarit, with headquarters in Stockholm. In 2004 Outokumpu bought the shares owned by Corus, so AvestaPolarit became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Outokumpu Group. AvestaPolarit was also removed from the stock exchanges in Helsinki and in Stockholm, since there was now only one company named Outokumpu with its headquarters in Espoo.
Until ca 2000 the turnover of copper products was bigger than that of the stainless steels products. The copper branch, excluding the Copper Tube and Brass division, was sold in 2005. Currently this company (former Outokumpu Copper) is known as Luvata International. The zinc branch was merged with the Swedish company Boliden
Boliden
Boliden is a locality situated in Skellefteå Municipality, Västerbotten County, Sweden with 1,515 inhabitants in 2005. It lies 28,5 kilometers from Skellefteå City....
but later, in 2005, Outokumpu sold all Boliden shares. The coldrolling mill in Sheffield was closed on the 31st March 2008, as one of the consequences of the company-wide fixed cost reduction (by 10%). The meltshop in Sheffield continues producing material for long products. The Copper tube and Brass division was sold to Cupori Group Oy in April 2008
At the end of September 2001, Outokumpu Technology finalized the Lurgi Metallurgie
Lurgi AG
Lurgi GmbH is a German engineering, construction and chemical process licensing company. The head office is located in Frankfurt am Main. Lurgi GmbH has been part of Air Liquide S. A. since 2007.- History :...
acquisition. In June 2006, Outokumpu Technology was spun off
Spin out
A spin-out, also known as a spin-off or a starburst, refers to a type of corporate action where a company "splits off" sections of itself as a separate business....
as a separate entity Outotec
Outotec
Outotec Oyj is a Finnish company, headquartered in Espoo, aimed at providing technologies and services for the metal and mineral processing industries...
.
Avesta Works
AvestaAvesta Municipality
Avesta Municipality is one of 290 municipalities of Sweden. It is in Dalarna County, in central part of the country, and its seat is in the town Avesta....
has a long history in steelmaking, just like Sheffield in the UK. There is a melting shop, hot rolling for heavy plates, hot rolling for 2000 mm width coils by Steckel-mill and cold rolling mills.
Avesta has developed many special stainless steel grades, high-alloy austenitic and duplex grades, optimised for good formability, weldability and high corrosion resistance.
Thin Strip Nyby
Nyby Ironworks in TorshällaTorshälla
Torshälla is a locality situated in Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 7,614 inhabitants in 2005.Torshälla is for historical reasons normally referred to as a stad even though it does not have a population of 10,000 which is the limit defined by Statistics Sweden.Before the...
was founded in 1829 by Adolf Zethelius
Adolf Zethelius
Adolf Zethelius, born as Erik Adolf Zethelius on February 19, 1781 in Stockholm, died on March 7, 1864 in Stockholm, was a Swedish silversmith, industrialist and owner of the Swedish ironworks Surahammars bruk and Nyby bruk.-Silversmith:...
, but ironworking on the site is first documented already in the 15th century when the Bishop of nearby Strängnäs
Diocese of Strängnäs
The Diocese of Strängnäs is a part of the Church of Sweden and has its seat in Strängnäs Cathedral in Strängnäs, south of Lake Mälaren. The diocese is made up of the two provinces Närke and Södermanland .The diocese was first a suffragan of the Diocese of Lund, which in 1104 was elevated to...
founded hammer forges by the waterfall near Nyby. Nyby has long since abandoned ordinary steel in favour of cold rolled Stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
, concentrating heavily on special grades.
Tornio Works
The biggest production facilities are located in the integrated mills of Tornio Works, in a small town TornioTornio
Tornio is a town and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. The population density is , with a total population of . It borders to the Swedish municipality of Haparanda...
on the coast of Gulf of Bothnia
Gulf of Bothnia
The Gulf of Bothnia is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It is situated between Finland's west coast and Sweden's east coast. In the south of the gulf lie the Åland Islands, between the Sea of Åland and the Archipelago Sea.-Name:...
. Tornio Works produces hot rolled and cold rolled coils and sheets cut from coil, with an annual output of one million tonnes. The main marketing area is EU. Up to 85 pct of the products are exported all around the world. Tornio site consists of ferrochromium smelting, two steelmeltingshops, hot rolling mill and two cold rolling mills. The steel works were built in 1975–1976. The first stainless cast was made in May 1976, week 19, thus it has got the heat number 61901. An alleged money laundering controversy related to export practices to Russia involving Tornio works is being reviewed by the District Court of Kymenlaakso in Kouvola since 22 March 2011. ML Tornio Court Hearings
UK sites
Outokumpu currently has three sites in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, Stocksbridge
Stocksbridge
Stocksbridge is a small town and civil parish in the City of Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 13,663. It lies just to the east of the Peak District....
and Blackburn.
In 1950 Firth Vickers and Samuel Fox set up a joint works for cold rolling stainless steel at Shepcote Lane, Sheffield (government restrictions prevented both firms importing the equipment from the USA). In 1967 the industry was nationalised, with the stainless steel operation of the business subsequently being branded as British Steel Stainless
British Steel
British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...
. Firth Vickers previously marketing their Stainless steel under the "Staybrite" brand.
In 2005, it was announced that the cold-rolling and finishing units (Coil Products Sheffield) on Shepcote Lane were to close, with the loss of over 600 jobs. Production ceased in the first half of 2006. However the company still has operations in the UK including a melting shop, special strip cold rolling and finishing, bar rolling and UK distribution.
At the end of March 2008 production ceased at its Stocksbridge site, the work transferring to its Meadowhall site so ending about 80 years of rolling razor strip at Stocksbridge.