Finnish steelmaker Rautaruukki has announced its intention to discontinue spiral-welded line pipe production in Oulainen, Finland, as well as to roll back production at the Virsbo works in Sweden.
According to Rautaruukki, spiral-welded line pipes are not part of Rautaruukki's core business and the large piles and structural pipelines used in construction will continue to be manufactured at Oulainen. The decision is expected to affect around 70 employees in Oulainen and four employees in Hämeenlinna.
Meanwhile, maintenance functions at the Virsbo works in Sweden are to be outsourced and the production volume at the works is to be adjusted in line with profitable demand. The adjustment of production volumes is expected to affect around 45 employees during 2008-2009 in Sweden.
As previously reported by SteelOrbis, Rautaruukki in early October announced its intention to close down the smaller profiling unit at Ostrava, Czech Republic, which has been operating on rented premises since 2002, and to relocate the facility to its larger plants in Hungary, Poland and Romania by the end of Q1 2009.