Outokumpu invests €90 million in new line at Tornio facility
Outokumpu Oyj is replacing one of its five cold rolling mill annealing and pickling lines at its Tornio facility with a new €90 million investment. The new line will increase capacity and enable production of new steel grades.
Steel company Outokumpu Oyj has announced a €90 million investment for its facilities in Tornio, Finland. The company will replace one of the five annealing and pickling lines at its cold rolling mill with new equipment.
The investment will increase the capacity for cold-rolled products by 75,000 tons per year. The new line will also enable the production of brighter ferritic steel grades, enhancing Outokumpu's ability to meet evolving customer needs more flexibly.
The new annealing and pickling line is part of Outokumpu's strategy to strengthen its position in the ferritic stainless steel market. This investment complements a previously announced €13 million investment in a dome furnace at the Tornio Works hot rolling mill, which is set to begin producing ferritic steels in the first quarter of 2007.
The old line, built in 1982, will be entirely replaced. The new line will have a nominal capacity of 300,000 tons and will allow for quick production changeovers between both austenitic and ferritic steel grades. The investment will be spread over three years. Production from the old line is scheduled to cease in the final quarter of 2008, with the new line expected to be operational by the end of 2008. Full capacity is anticipated by the end of 2009. Following the investment, Outokumpu Tornio Works' cold rolling mill capacity will exceed 1.25 million tons annually.