Tata Steel completes acquisition of service centres in Europe's Nordic region

2 April 2015

Indian steel major Tata Steel has completed the acquisition of a range of service centres in the Nordic region of Europe, including a takeover from a Swedish steel manufacturer.

Tata Steel, Europe's second largest steel producer, acquired two service centres from Sweden's SSAB and 50 per cent of a third service centre in which Tata already owned 50 per cent.

"The addition of these service-oriented operations provides an excellent fit with Tata Steel's existing business, given its focus on supplying customers with the increasingly innovative products and services they need to be competitive," said Henrik Adam, Tata Steel's Chief Commercial Officer in Europe.

"We have served customers in the Nordic region for many years and there is an increasing requirement in the region for the kinds of advanced strip products Tata Steel makes."

Tata Steel has acquired SSAB's strip products service centres in Halmstad, Sweden and Naantali, Finland, as well as the remaining 50 per cent stake in Norsk Stal Tynnplater AS, another strip products service centre based in Frederikstad, Norway.

"These additions to our regional processing capability will help improve the products and services we can offer Nordic customers," Adam said.

Together the three businesses employ about 180 people. "We are delighted to be welcoming 180 new colleagues who will help us improve the support we already offer consumers of strip products in the Nordic region," Adam said.

The service centres offer cutting-to-length, slitting and recoiling services to customers in the automotive, electrical supplies and construction industries, as well as in heavy and light engineering.

The acquisitions follow approval from the national competition authorities. SSAB has sold the businesses as a condition of its takeover of Rautaruukki.

Tata Steel is Europe's second largest steel producer, with steelmaking in the UK and Netherlands, and manufacturing plants across Europe.

The company supplies products and services to sectors including construction, automotive, packaging, rail, lifting and excavating, energy and power and aerospace.

The Tata Steel group is one of the world's largest steel producers, with a steel capacity of 29 million tonnes and 80,000 employees across four continents.

 

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