Rautaruukki

Rautaruukki Oyj using the marketing name Ruukki is a Finnish company, headquartered in Helsinki, which manufactures and supplies metal-based components and systems to the construction and engineering industries.

Rautaruukki steel factory in Raahe Jul2009 001
Four employees of Ruukki before the rolling mill in Hämeenlinna
This article is about the company. For pusher vessel, see Rautaruukki (pusher).
Rautaruukki Oyj
TypeJulkinen osakeyhtiö
IndustryBasic resources, Metal industry
Founded1960
Headquarters
Helsinki
,
Finland
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Reino Hanhinen (Chairman), Sakari Tamminen (President and CEO)
ProductsManufacture and supply of metals and metal products
Revenue€2.798 billion (2011)[1]
(€22 million) (2011)[1]
(€79 million) (2010)[2]
Total assets€2.539 billion (end 2010)[2]
Total equity€1.389 billion (end 2010)[2]
Number of employees
11,820 (average, 2011)[1]
Websitewww.ruukki.com

The company was founded in 1960 by the Finnish Government to provide the steel supply needed by the nation's heavy industries. Since part-privatization in 1994, the state has gradually decreased its holding in Rautaruukki to 40% and the firm is now a constituent member of the OMX Helsinki 25 index . The name of the corporation means simply ironworks in Finnish.

The firm consists of three business areas: construction, engineering and metals. Rautaruukki produces a range of products for clients in various industries, including cabins and chassis for heavy vehicles, hot rolled steel plates and coils, roofing sheets and building and bridge structures.

The company employs around 11,800 people, e.g. in the Nordic countries, the Baltics, China, Russia, Ukraine and Central Eastern Europe.[3]

History

1960s

Rautaruukki was founded by the Finnish government in 1960. Also Outokumpu, Valmet, Wärtsilä, Rauma-Repola and Fiskars were involved in the company's birth. The main purpose for the new company was to guarantee the availability of raw materials for the Finnish metal industry, e.g. ship building. Rautaruukki's steel mill in Raahe did not use the traditional ingot casting method which was still used in other western countries but produced steel with the cost-efficient continuous casting technique. The company grew from six people employed in 1960 to more than 1,700 by the end of the 1960s.[4]

1970s

In the 1970s Rautaruukki portfolio expanded to sheets and pipe products because it wanted to reach a wider range of customers. A cold rolling mill was established in Hämeenlinna where tube production was started. A second blast furnace was also opened in 1976 in Raahe. In the end of the decade Rautaruukki had over 7,000 employees.[4]

1980s

Rautaruukki began to grow in Western Europe by establishing sales offices and making acquisitions. It bought a colour-coating works called Metalcolour A/S from Denmark, a steel wholesale business called CCB-Gruppen from Norway and a tube mill called Schmacke Rohr GmbH from Germany. In 1989 Stelform A/S (a new cold-formed section production plant) was established in Denmark. In the end of 1980's Rautaruukki employed almost 10,000 people.[4] In 1989 Rautaruukki became a publicly traded company.

1990s

In the 1990s Rautaruukki invested to increase the degree of production's upgrading. It also entered the construction business by acquiring Finnish steel roof manufacturer called Rannila. The markets in Eastern Europe were opened first in the Baltics and Poland, followed by Russia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Hungary. In the end of the decade, Rautaruukki had 5,000 employees outside Finland, employing all together over 12,000 persons.[4]

2000s

When Sakari Tamminen started as a new CEO in January 2004 he began a wide renewal program. All the companies in Rautaruukki Corporation began using Ruukki as their marketing name. According to the new strategy Ruukki began to focus on special steel products and on the solutions businesses in the construction and engineering industries. Ruukki executed demanding construction and engineering projects around the world.[4]

The acquisitions in the 2000s included Velsa (2004), Metalplast and Syneco Industri AB (2005) and PPTH, OOO Ventall, Omeo, AZST-Kolor and Steel-Mont in 2006. Ruukki started in China in 2005. It opened the first sales office in Shanghai in 2009, now there is office also in Beijing.

2010s

In May 2011 Ruukki corporation's organization was renewed, it now has three divisions: Ruukki Construction, Ruukki Engineering and Ruukki Metals.

In 2011 Ruukki introduced new product, an energy panel which helps to improve the energy rating of buildings and opened a sales office in Mumbai.

In 2014 Swedish steelmaker SSAB has agreed to buy Finland's Rautaruukki Corp. The deal has not yet (April 2014) been approved by the anti-trust authorities.

Organization

Ruukki has three business areas: Ruukki Construction, Ruukki Engineering and Ruukki Metals.

Ruukki Construction

Ruukki Construction´s solutions are for lifecycle and energy-efficient steel structure in the construction industry. Ruukki Construction's products are used in commercial, office and industrial construction, as well as in the construction of single-family houses, ports, wind turbines and infrastructure construction. Investments Ruukki has made in Russia has delivered results for Ruukki is now the largest steel constructor on the Russian market west of the Urals.

In May 2011 Ruukki stated it was the first manufacturer which had developed a solar panel facade converting the sun's rays to electricity. The photovoltaic system is fully integrated into a facade and the electricity produced can be used either to serve the needs of the building itself or it can be fed into the public grid. A solar panel facade of an average office can produce 18,000 kWh of electricity yearly.

Ruukki Construction's products can be found for example in the following buildings:

Ruukki Engineering

Ruukki Engineering focuses on providing fully assembled systems and components for the engineering industry. The unit's products include:

  • cabins for mobile machines,
  • special-steel components (such as booms, masts, frames and support legs),
  • components for the lifting, handling and transportation industry,
  • wind turbine components,
  • oil sumps
  • base frames for generators and
  • engines.

Ruukki Metals

In 2011 the Ruukki Metals business unit employed around 5.400 people and had net sales of €1.691 million and operating profit of €80 million which makes it the largest business area of Ruukki.

In autumn 2011 Ruukki introduced Flex service concept. Instead of standard sizes customers can get exactly the size of stainless steel and aluminium they need which helps to reduce the customer's waste material and energy costs.

Ruukki Metals' special steel products include

  • high-strength, wear-resistant and specially coated products,
  • wear-resistant Raex and
  • ultra-high-strength Optim structural steel.

Raex is used in ships, concrete mixers, crushers, screening equipment, excavator buckets and demolition equipment. The advantage of Raex is in its lightness: a steel container made of Raex is 40% lighter than a container made of regular steel so it is easier to handle and cheaper to transport.

Optim is used in aerial and various transportation tanks and containers. Optim weighs also less than regular steel.

Ruukki Metal's other products are rolled steel products, metal and colour-coated steels, tubes, bars, beams, stainless steels and aluminium and mineral products which comes as a by-product of the steel-making process. The unit also provides product-related services including prefabrication, parts processing, logistics and storage.

According to the company's strategy, it is not worth shipping mild steel far by world standards, but it does pay to ship spearhead products to the other side of the world for example.

Recognitions
  • The 2011 Steel Construction of the Year award was given to Kilden Performing Arts Centre in Kristiansand, Norway by The Finnish Constructional Steelwork Association. Ruukki Construction delivered the frame and was responsible for the detail design, fabrication and installation of the steel structures for the centre. The construction of Kilden showed an innovative combination of different materials: steel, wood and stone.[5]
  • Ruukki has received awards for promoting sustainability:

Management

Sakari Tamminen is the President & CEO (Chairman of the Corporate Executive Board) for Ruukki.

Ownership

The largest shareholders for Rautaruukki Corporation on 31 December 2011 were:[8]

  1. Solidium Oy 39.67%
  2. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company 3.72%
  3. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company 2.51%
  4. The State Pension Fund 1.39%
  5. Odin - Funds 1.03%

References
  1. "Financial performance, Annual Report 2011". Rautaruukki. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  2. "Annual Results 2010". Rautaruukki. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  3. "About Ruukki". Rautaruukki. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  4. "Ruukki from the 1960s to the present day". Rautaruukki. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  5. "2Kilden Performing Arts Centre Voted 2011 Steel Construction of the Year". Steelnews.com. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  6. "Ruukki achieves industry leader position in Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes". Rautaruukki. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  7. "2nd Steelies Awards winners announced at worldsteel-45 in Paris". World Steel Association. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  8. "Shareholders". Ruukki. 30 April 2012. Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 29 May. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
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