A History of High PerformanceOutokumpu and the birth

of stainless steel

1913Harry Brearley invents stainless steel In 1913, Englishman Harry Brearley discovered in his Sheffield laboratory that a certain amount of chrome would stop steel from corroding. After these discoveries, stainless steel production started in Sheffield, UK and Krefeld, Germany. Actually, some of the Outokumpu production locations are even older – the Dahlerbrück plant was first mentioned in the records in 1687.

1920sStainless steel cutleryBrearley saw how this new steel could revolutionise the cutlery industry but he had great difficulty convincing his more conservative employers. On his own initiative, he had knives made at local cutlers, R.F. Mosley. To begin with, Brearley referred to his invention as “rustless steel”. It was Ernest Stuart, the cutlery manager of Mosley’s who first referred to the new knives as “stainless”.

1929The SavoyDuring the 1920s The Savoy enthusiastically embraced the Art Deco movement. Art Deco décor and furniture was installed in the hotel and Kaspar, the Savoy’s lucky black cat, was carved by designer Basil Ionides in 1927. The iconic stainless steel Savoy sign over Savoy Court, designed by Sir Howard Robertson, was installed in 1929.

Besides having the first use of stainless steel as a façade on a building, the hotel boasted many other firsts, like private ensuites, electric lifts, constant hot and cold water, air conditioning, steam heating, soundproof windows and even telephones in bathrooms.

1930sAvesta - First producer to develop Duplex Stainless SteelBy 1930 two duplex grades were commercially available from Avesta Steelworks (where stainless production started in 1924). Grade 453E (26Cr-5Ni) was alloyed with chromium and nickel and was intended for heat resistance, while grade 453S (26Cr-5Ni-1Mo) added molybdenum to obtain improved aqueous corrosion resistance. Within two years these two duplex grades made up more than 6% of the 5500 metric tonnes of stainless steel production at Avesta Steelworks.

1932The Chrysler BuildingFor the first few months, this Iconic Art Deco skyscraper in New York was the tallest structure in the world. It was also one of the first buildings featuring stainless steel over a large exposed area.

The architect, William Van Alen, drew inspiration from machine technology for the ornamental details on the Chrysler Building. If you look closely you’ll see eagle hood ornaments, hubcaps and abstract images of cars.

The grade selected was 302 with a mill surface finish close to 2D. The stainless structure has only been washed twice and still is in immaculate condition.

1972The development of AODThe AOD process revolutionised stainless steelmaking. It lowered the cost of production of stainless steel significantly. It allowed operators to use electric arc furnaces for melting stainless and carbon steel scraps with desired amounts of low cost high carbon ferrochromium.

The decarburization operation was moved out of the electric furnace and into the newly designed converter. The oxidation-reduction operation could be conducted at very high productivity rates. Additionally, the quality of the alloys produced was improved. The process was adopted by major stainless steel producers at a very rapid rate. The AOD process is now the predominant method for making stainless steel in the world.

1992Avesta Sheffield International MergerThis was the first major International merger in the stainless steel industry, between Avesta AB of Sweden and British Steel Stainless UK, to form the second largest stainless steel producer in the world. At the time only Usinor Sacilor of France was larger. British Steel had a 40% stake in the newly formed venture. The new logo incorporated the Bison, which was symbol of the former Avesta company. Bison have lived in Avesta (in central Sweden) since 1924, as long as Avesta has produced stainless steel. Avesta was also the first producer in the world to roll 2000mm wide stainless steel coils in the early 1980s.

2001AvestaPolarit FormedOutokumpu Steel and Avesta Sheffield announce a merger to create AvestaPolarit, a world class international independent stainless steel company. AvestaPolarit instantly became the second largest stainless steel producer in the world with 8,700 employees and main production facilities in Finland, Sweden, the UK and the USA. With a combined stainless steel slab capacity of about 1.7 million tonnes, AvestaPolarit’s combined sales amount to over EUR 3 billion.

The name AvestaPolarit was derived from Avesta Sheffield’s main production site in Sweden “Avesta” and Outokumpu’s trade name for stainless “Polarit”.

By 2004 Outokumpu had acquired the majority of shares in the company, and the company name and logo was changed to Outokumpu.

Outokumpu is a town north east of Helsinki, meaning “Strange Hill”. It is derived from a small hill in the town that gave off a strange glow at night. The company’s origins were in copper mining in 1910.

2003Outokumpu’s RAP 5 lineThe production of cold rolled stainless steel coils from hot strip typically consists of a series of separate processes: annealing, pickling, cold rolling and skin pass rolling. Outokumpu’s line in Tornio Finland, supplied by Danieli, is a technological evolution allowing for just one integrated processing line. The RAP 5 line (Rolling-Annealing-Pickling) incorporates all the processes in a continuous line: tandem cold rolling mill, annealing furnace, pickling section, skin pass mill and tension leveling unit. The line is 800 metres long and occupies all three floors of the No. 2 cold rolling plant. The horizontal loopers allow the RAP line to be used continuously and when fully loaded, there is up to 4000 metres of strip in the line.

Outokumpu, Tornio, Finland

• Purpose built building, 800 metres long • RAP 5 line runs on 3 levels • Line holds 4000 metres of continuous strip • This equates to nearly 300 tonne of strip (6mm x 1500mm)

2013Outokumpu acquires Inoxum In late 2013 industrial giant ThyssenKrupp completes the sale of stainless steel company Inoxum to Finnish competitor Outokumpu. The deal creates a new global steel leader and marks the end of an era for Essen-based ThyssenKrupp.

The deal makes Outokumpu the market leader in the sector, with roughly 40% of European market share and around a 12% piece of the global pie. The two companies first announced the sale in February 2013, but had been working on terms to complete the deal. Investigators from the European Commission ruled in November the deal would not breach competition laws.

We believe in a worldthat lasts forever.

Head Office, Outokumpu Pty Ltd

134–136 Fitzgerald Road, North Laverton, 3026

Victoria, Australia

Telephone +61 (0)3 9369 3344

Facsimile +61 (0)3 9360 9355

outokumpu.com/australia