Uponor - Company Announcement

Uponor closes two production units in Finland – layoffs smaller than anticipated

Uponor Corporation           Stock exchange release           11 November 2013 
         13.30 EET 


Uponor closes two production units in Finland - layoffs smaller than anticipated

Uponor's collaborative negotiations with its staff in Finland were concluded on
8 November and the company subsequently decided to close its production units
in the towns of Ulvila and Forssa, southern Finland. The negotiations, which
were restricted to the subsidiaries Uponor Suomi Oy and Uponor Infra Oy,
resulted in the decision to reduce the workforce by 111 employees, compared to
the earlier plan of 140 persons. The companies further decided that there would
be no need for temporary layoffs or other similar measures at this point. 

Uponor Infra Oy and Uponor Suomi Oy entered into collaborative negotiations on
27 September 2013, affecting their entire workforce, a total of 740 persons. At
that time, the estimated need for personnel layoffs totalled 140 persons. In
addition, temporary layoffs were considered as additional measures. With
respect to Uponor Infra, the aim was to carry through structural changes
following the establishment of the company in July 2013, as a result of the
merger of the Uponor and KWH Pipe infrastructure businesses. With respect to
Uponor Suomi, a supplier of building solutions, savings and efficiency
improvements were sought in order to adjust operations to weakening domestic
market demand. Both companies also targeted the reorganisation of their sales
and marketing operations. 

Both of the factory closures relate to Uponor Infra's operations. It plans to
relocate its manufacturing operations from Ulvila to the Nastola factory and
from Forssa to the Vaasa facility. The Ulvila facility currently employs 65
persons and Forssa 26 persons. The relocations will be initiated without delay.
Further, there will be smaller-scale changes and removals of overlaps within
the Finnish sales and marketing, product management and supply chain functions.
Combined, these personnel reductions will amount to 111 persons, of which
Uponor Infra Oy represents 96 persons and Uponor Suomi Oy 15 persons. 

These restructuring actions are estimated to cause a total of €5.0 million in
non-recurring costs that mainly burden operating profit in the fourth quarter.
These non-recurring items include costs related to the personnel reductions,
manufacturing relocations as well as write-offs. The aim is to complete the
restructuring by the end of the first quarter of 2014. 

The manufacturing relocations are expected to open over 30 new positions in the
factories in Vaasa and Nastola. These jobs will primarily be offered to the
employees who are losing their jobs in the other locations. Uponor will support
these persons in their relocations to new sites. In connection with the
layoffs, employees will be informed of the publicly available support for such
change situations. Over a period of a few months, Uponor will also offer
training in job seeking to employees who are losing their jobs. 

After the consolidation, in Finland Uponor Infra and Uponor Suomi will have
pipe production in Vaasa and in Nastola, and smaller production units in
Jyväskylä and Tuusula. Uponor Infra Oy is owned by Uponor Corporation (55.3 %)
and KWH Group Ltd (44.7 %), while Uponor Suomi Oy is a wholly owned subsidiary
of Uponor Corporation. 

Further information from:
Uponor Infra Oy: Sebastian Bondestam, President, tel. +358 20 129 2846
Uponor Suomi Oy: Ville Ruohio, Managing Director, tel. +358 20 129 2285
Uponor Corporation: Tarmo Anttila, Vice President Communications, tel. +358 20
129 2852 


Uponor Corporation

Tarmo Anttila
Vice President, Communications


DISTRIBUTION
NASDAQ OMX - Helsinki
Media
www.uponor.com



Uponor is a leading international provider of plumbing and indoor climate
solutions for residential and commercial building markets across Europe and
North America. On 1 July 2013, Uponor and KWH Group merged their infrastructure
businesses into a jointly owned company, Uponor Infra, which is a leading
supplier of infrastructure pipe systems in Northern Europe, with wide
operations internationally. In 2012, the Uponor Group employed approx. 3,000
persons in 30 countries and its net sales exceeded €810 million. Uponor
Corporation is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki in Finland. http://www.uponor.com.