Outokumpu Oyj - Company Announcement

Outokumpu builds stainless steel Service Center in India and also prepares feasibility study to build a cold rolling mill in India

Stock Exchange Release
July 24, 2007 at 11.30 am

Outokumpu's Board of Directors has today approved plans to build a
green field stainless steel Service Center in the western part of
India. The Service Center is scheduled to be in operation in the
first half of 2009, at an investment cost of some EUR 30 million.

India is experiencing strong economic growth which is forecast to
remain robust. India currently has a low per capita stainless
consumption and it is estimated to grow strongly in the coming years.
The western region is today the major stainless steel consuming area
in India and the consumption there is forecast to remain dominant.

The new Service Center, with an annual capacity to stock and process
some 50 000 tons of stainless steel coil, will significantly
complement the services that Outokumpu's Indian sales office has been
providing to Indian customers. The Service Center will have
cut-to-length, slitting, polishing and brushing lines to serve among
others the metals goods, equipment fabrication, process industries,
as well as welded pipe and tube manufacturers. The cold rolled
stainless steel coil supply will come mainly from Outokumpu's
integrated stainless steel mill in Tornio, Finland.

Says Yatinder Suri, head of Outokumpu's Indian sales company, "Indian
stainless market has entered a phase of growth and this is the most
opportune time for Outokumpu to support the emerging needs of the
country with customized stainless steel products.

Currently over 50% of the stainless steel products required by end
users in India are being bought through trading channels. There is a
pressing demand from end users for mill backed service centers so
that they can buy the right quality products on a just in time basis.

This step is indeed an excellent display of our vision to achieve
leadership through providing competitive advantage to our customers."

New cold rolling mill planned to India

To further strengthen the Group's market position in India, Outokumpu
is planning to build a new green field stainless steel cold rolling
mill in India. An initial study has already been completed, and now a
more detailed feasibility study on the project has started and is
expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2008. In the study
the possibility of utilizing some of the unused equipment from the
Sheffield cold rolling mill that was closed in 2006 will be
evaluated. The planned mill would have an annual capacity of some
250 000 tons of cold rolled stainless steel coil. The hot rolled
feedstock would come from Outokumpu's integrated stainless steel mill
in Tornio, Finland.

Says Juha Rantanen, CEO of Outokumpu, "The new Service Center and the
planned cold rolling mill in India will increase Outokumpu's
geographical coverage and support our aim to increase sales directly
to end-users. During the course of 2007 further options will be
evaluated to widen Outokumpu's geographical presence."

For further information, please contact:

Andrea Gatti, EVP - Commercial Operations,
Tel. +39 010 55431, mobile +39 335 6064896

Yatinder Suri, Country Head, Outokumpu India Private Limited
Tel. +91 11 46518444, mobile +91 98181 20952

Eero Mustala, SVP - Corporate Communications,
Tel. +358 9 421 2435, mobile +358 40 504 5146


OUTOKUMPU OYJ
Corporate Management

Ingela Ulfves
Vice President - Investor Relations
tel. +358 9 421 2438, mobile +358 40 515 1531, fax +358 9 421 2125
e-mail: ingela.ulfves@outokumpu.com
www.outokumpu.com

Attachments:

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