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Finnish stainless steelmaker and ferroalloy producer Outokumpu has announced that it will invest €104 million to increase capability and capacity of stainless steel quarto plate production in Degerfors, Sweden. The investment is in line with Outokumpu's strategy to increase the proportion of special grades.
 
The capability is increased through new equipment like heat treatment batch furnaces, including cooling, and a leveler. The investment will increase annual production capacity in Degerfors by 30 percent to 150,000 metric tons.
 
The majority of the new capacity is scheduled to be available in 2014. The investment will be spread out over five years with the majority of cash out-flows in 2012 and 2013. The return on the investment is well above the group target of 13 percent.
 
According to the company statement, Outokumpu has a global market share of some 20 percent in quarto plate, individually rolled wide and thick plate, used for example in chemical tankers, energy industry and desalination plants.
 
The quarto plate investment project was originally announced in October 2007 but was postponed in December 2008 due to the financial crisis and unsecure market conditions.