Displaying items by tag: Finland

Europe: Cemex has signed a deal to sell its assets in the Baltic and Nordic countries to Germany’s Schwenk for Euro340m. The transaction is expected to complete within the first quarter of 2019, subject to regulatory approval.

The Baltic assets being divested consist of one 1.7Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Broceni, Latvia, as well as four aggregates quarries, two cement quarries, six ready-mix concrete plants, one marine terminal and one land distribution terminal in that country. The assets divested also include Cemex’s approximate 38% indirect interest in a 1.8Mt/yr cement plant in Akmene in Lithuania. In addition, the exports business to Estonia is also included as part of the divestment.

The Nordic assets being divested consist of three import terminals in Finland, four import terminals in Norway and four import terminals in Sweden.

UK: Finland’s Metso has acquired Kiln Flame Systems (KFS), a UK-based combustion solutions and technology provide, to extend its pyro-processing portfolio and capabilities. KFS specialises in rotary kiln and calcining processes, combustion optimisation and burner technologies with patented designs. It provides solutions to a wide range of industries including minerals processing. KFS has 14 employees based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. KFS will become part of Metso's Minerals Services business area, which offers a comprehensive line of pyro processing equipment.

"Joining forces with Metso gives us the opportunity to offer our technology to a wider customer base. KFS has worked hard to establish our position and reputation as a market leader in custom-designed combustion solutions, and we are delighted to build our future and continue serving existing and new customers with Metso," said Cliff Rennie, director and chief executive officer (CEO) of KFS.

KFS was founded in 1999. It uses computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for burner design and system analysis supported by physical modelling.

Finland: Metso is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a photo exhibition illustrating how the company has taken part in shaping and building the modern world. Interim chief executive officer (CEO) and chief financial officer (CFO) Eeva Sipilä will open the event on 18 September 2018 at Sanoma House in Helsinki. The exhibition will be open to the public until the end of September 2018.

The company was first established in 1868 when Erik Jan Hammarberg set up the Sunds Bruk ironworks in Sweden. As the business developed its products and services widened and its ownership changed. In 1991, the operations become part of Rauma-Repola. Rauma then merged with Valmet in 1999 to form Metso. At present the company operates in more than 50 countries and over 12,000 staff. It serves the mining, aggregates, recycling and process industries.

A central part of the company’s focus includes aggregates and minerals processing. Key parts of Metso’s development in this area include the creation of the Nordberg Manufacturing Company in 1886 by Bruno Nordberg, a Finnish migrant who settled in Michigan in the US and produced some of the first crushing equipment for mines. In 1928, Nordberg acquired Symons cone crusher technology. Bergeaud & Bruno was established in France in 1895 to manufacture crushing equipment, and in Tampere, Finland, Lokomo produced its first jaw crushers at the beginning of the 1920s. Each of these companies and their products continue to the present day as products offered by Metso.

Finland: Carina Geber-Teir has been appointed as Senior Vice President, Communications by Cargotec. She will take the post by September 2018 at the latest. She will be responsible for leading communications, investor relations and sustainability function. She will be a member of Cargotec's Extended Executive Board and report to chief executive officer (CEO) Mika Vehviläinen. She succeeds Leena Lie, who has taken a new job at Huhtamäki Oyj.

Geber-Teir, aged 46 years, joins Cargotec from OP Financial Group, where she has been a member of the Executive Board and Chief Communications Officer since 2009. Prior to this she was Communications Director at Varma Mutual Pension Insurance.

Finland: Cargotec has signed an agreement with JCE Invest to establish a joint venture, Bruks Siwertell Group, specialised in dry bulk handling. The new joint venture will own Siwertell and Bruks Holding. Cargotec will own 48% of the shares in Bruks Siwertell Group and JCE Invest will own the remaining share.

"This joint venture supports Cargotec's strategy to focus on container ports, heavy industrial segment and logistics. Siwertell's business is outside these core focus areas, with different customers, customer locations and limited synergies with the rest of our businesses. By joining forces with JCE Group, we are able to create a company that will be a significant player in the bulk material handling with a globally competitive and specialised product portfolio," said Antti Kaunonen, president of Kalmar, part of the Cargotec group.

Siwertell is a supplier of ship unloaders, road-mobile unloaders, port-mobile unloaders, ship loaders, mechanical and pneumatic conveying systems, and bulk terminal solutions. Bruks specialises in mechanical-engineering and equipment supply for the bulk materials handling industries.

Finland: Engineering equipment supplier Metso has upgraded its Tampere plant to focus on track-mounted crushing units. The new assembly line has increased mobile crushing plant production by 25%. It says it can build a 50t track-mounted crushing plant in two working days.

"Demand for mobile Lokotrack crushers for aggregates took an upward turn 18 months ago, so the timing of our investment in capacity growth was right. We want to ensure that our production capacity can meet customers' growing needs," said Markku Simula, President, Aggregates Equipment business area at Metso.

The new assembly line has six assembly stations instead of the previous five. Currently, the line is used for assembling the company’s most popular crusher models. Assembly of larger and more complex models will begin in the spring of 2018.
Aggregate crushing plants have been built in Tampere for 98 years. The first jaw crusher was completed at the Lokomo workshop in 1921. Production of track-mounted crushing plants began in 1985.

Finland: Metso plans to divide its Minerals Services division into two separate business areas: Minerals Services and Minerals Consumables. The heads of the business areas will report to Metso's president and chief executive officer (CEO) and they will be members of Metso's executive team.

The Minerals Services business area will consist of spare parts and service solutions as well as supporting distribution and repair centre infrastructures. The Minerals Consumables business area will consist of wear part businesses together with the foundries and other manufacturing operations as well as supply chain infrastructure.

The new organisational structure will become effective at the beginning of 2018, and the presidents of the new business areas will be appointed in due course.

Finland: Perttu Louhiluoto, President of Metso's Minerals Services business area and a member of the Metso Executive Team, has decided to leave Metso by the end of 2017 at the latest. He has been employed by Metso since 2008 and has held several management positions in various Metso businesses.

Finland: Metso has signed a distribution agreement for its valve products with Process Control Equipment (PCE) to cover the UK, Benelux and Spain. Under the non-exclusive agreement, PCE will add to its current portfolio of Metso's Neles and Jamesbury product families for all process industries in all countries. PCE has been distributing Metso's Jamesbury valves in the UK since 2012.

"The new agreement brings benefits for Metso's customers in UK, Benelux and Spain to ensure better availability and service support for them. The expansion of distributors in these countries will bring additional value, including more local support, local inventories, and faster deliveries of our products," said Kyle Rayhill, Director of Global Distribution, Flow Control, Metso.

Finland: Miikka Riionheimo has been appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Finnsementti with effect from 1 June 2017. He will replace the current CEO Kalervo Matikainen when he retires. Riionheimo has worked in a variety of roles for Hella since 2004 and also worked for Sandvik. He became the chief operating officer of Finnsementti in 2016.