50 years as one 

Tornio and Mexinox could hardly be further apart in heritage and geography. Yet we share what matters most: our values, and our drive to innovate and move our industry forward. Together, we have a century of category leadership, built on different cultures and perspectives that make us stronger as one. This is not just one anniversary. This is a celebration of being part of something much bigger.
 

16 Jun 2026

Our expertise

Both in Finland and Mexico, our history coincides with the country’s rise as an industrial and manufacturing player, and our history has much similarities with the history of those countries.

As stainless steel has global markets, both Mexinox and Tornio have also faced similar challenges over the years, starting from the oil crisis in their founding days in 1970s to more recent changes in the trade and geopolitics.

From the beginning, we have relentlessly strived for continuous improvement of our operations in both Tornio and San Luis Potosí. Over the past five decades, we have adapted our strategy, developed our processes for example to make them as energy efficient as possible, and delivered high and consistent quality to our customers. 

This experience has made us the sustainability leader in stainless steel today and guides our evolution in the stainless steel market. With pride in who we are, we are ready for what’s next.  

Explore Outokumpu's history

Our communities

In our expertise, we rely and have always relied on our own team members, be it everyday operations or such major projects as building a stainless steel mill and expanding it. Even now, our people are the reason Outokumpu has been positioned to grow and can now continue in line with our EVOLVE strategy.

This works both ways, and both Mexinox and Tornio share long careers. In Mexinox, the average team member has worked at our mill for at least some 20 years – in Tornio, 19 years. Outokumpu’s future success will be built by today’s team members.

We have found a great home base for our operations both in San Luis Potosí and Tornio. Over the past five decades, both Mexinox and Tornio demonstrate stability, reliability and respect for our communities, where we are part of the community as key industrial players.

In San Luis Potosí, we employ directly 800 people and support the community indirectly through more than 600 suppliers with approximately 8,500 employees in Mexico. In Kemi–Tornio, we employ 2,200 people directly and indirectly some 8,000 people.

history article

Celebrating 50 years together

How have the last 50 years been for our mills in Tornio and Mexinox? Our most northern and most western stainless steel mill have surprisingly much in common. 

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