On September 24th, OSTP’s Management Group paid a visit to Korsnäs AB’s pulp and paper mill in Gävle on Sweden’s east coast. As one of the world’s leading producers of virgin fiber-based packaging material, Korsnäs is currently constructing a new evaporation plant due for commission in 2010. OSTP, in collaboration with the BE Group, is a major supplier of stainless tubes and fittings for this expansion.
The aim of this visit was to strengthen our relations with this important end-user and its sub-contractors, and to gain a better insight into the demands they place on us as a strategic supplier. We are well aware that room for improvement always exists and we are totally committed to creating greater value for our customers, in part via our Route to World Class work.
Regarding the current market situation, we believe that the bottom of the recession has now been reached and a slow recovery begun. We have, for example, increased the production of process pipes at our LAP and LPP lines at Nyby in Sweden and Jakobstad in Finland. We are also committed to strengthening our position in special grade steels and the build-up of our expanded stocks of tubes and fittings in LDX 2101® is now complete.
I would also like to highlight our two major investments in Örnsköldsvik in Sweden and Wildwood in the US. In Örnsköldsvik, we have just brought a new annealing oven for butt weld fittings online. In Wildwood, we are installing a new 6600-ton press for heavy wall pipes. This press can manufacture tubes with outer diameters up to 1200 mm and wall thicknesses up to 60 mm. Commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2010.
Two further high notes on which to end are the positive results of our customer survey, about which you can read more on page 3, and the very impressive improvements regarding safety. As you know, safety is always our No. 1 priority and it is therefore extremely satisfying to note that the number of accidents at work has fallen dramatically over a four-year period. For accidents leading to time off work, we have a ‘zero vision’, and while we are not quite there yet, we are well on the way! |
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