1970s
For Tornio, the story started with a rock, as it had started for Outokumpu, found in a freshwater channel by a local diver. It was chromium ore. Now, Outokumpu had 90% of raw materials of stainless steel in its own hands – nickel and chrome – a decision was made to expand into stainless steel, starting from ferrochrome. After the ferrochrome production started in Tornio in 1968, there was a major campaign on where to establish the steel mill. Public pressure and government support tipped the scale to the benefit of Tornio. The plans were ready, and construction was started immediately after decision in 1973. It was the largest industrial project in Finland – yet expansion was an immediate possibility, and the halls were built in so that the load-bearing beams were not placed where there could be a passageway to another hall later. External technical assistance and training was obtained from the German company Krupp. The other option had been British Steel – both appear in Outokumpu's story later on. The Outokumpu and Krupp people respected each other's expertise, and the Germans said that “Outokumpu knew more than they had thought". When the first steel – named Polarit after a naming competition – was released from the furnace, the factory began to grow immediately.
The start of the Mexinox mill was more straightforward: it was founded in 1973 by the Mexican government in a closed Mexican economy. It was established as the first and only stainless steel mill in the country and remains that way today. Its location, San Luis Potosí, is a geographic center in Mexico. Imports were an issue already then: as Mexinox started up in 1976, stainless steel imports were subject to tougher import licenses as the strategy was to close borders to support domestic production. Traditional importers were upset, as they were forced to buy from Mexinox at a lower profit margin. In a closed economy, nearly all imports required a pervious import license issued by the government. First cold-milling started up in 1978. During the construction phase of both mills, the global economy was in recession, which Outokumpu described in its annual report as “the worst since the Second World War”. In 1975, the oil crisis lasted for the second year in a row. However, growth was predicted for the long term.
First cast in the Tornio meltshop on May 3, 1976.
1980s
Production was increased in the 1980s both in Mexinox and in Tornio. The beginning was not easy in Mexico, even though the first products were exported from Mexinox to the US in the 1980s. Despite that, Juan Autrique was appointed by the government as General Manager of Mexinox to review if the mill should be closed as liquidated or if it had a future as a profitable business. Between 1985–1986, the Mexican government decided to sell the non-essential, government owned businesses, with Mexinox being one of them. A group of Mexican investors acquired a portion of Mexinox, including the Autrique family. Consequently, Mexinox decided to develop its own retailing network in the main Mexican cities, competing with the traditional importers, inviting friends and family; each branch being a separate corporate entity with its own P&L, personnel, salary structure and benefits – all of them buying stainless steel from Mexinox. So, there were both distributors and Mexinox’s own retail network coexisting. Second cold-rolling mill was built in 1989.
In Tornio, the expansion project was called Tupla (Double) in accordance with the increase in capacity to 90,000–100,000 tonnes. The project was extended to 7–8 years so that the progress was more flexible, but yet large investments reduced the result. The toughest competitors were considered to be Avesta and Krupp. In 1985, when capacity was increased, it was also decided to give up the leased rolling mill that had been purchased as a service from Rautaruukki (now SSAB): the price was high and not all the development work was in the company's own hands. A year later, the merger of Avesta and Tornio was discussed for the first time, but it was not yet the time for it: in Sweden the project was cancelled due to opposition after information was leaked. Instead of Outokumpu, Avesta joined forces with British Steel. The doubling project was completed in 1988, and Tornio’s own hot rolling mill was also started up in the same year. That year's result was so good that there was talk of “the star investment of Finnish industry”.
Inauguration of the own hot rolling mill in Tornio on March 28, 1988.
1990s
In 1990, the Mexican government sold Mexinox to Thyssen Edelsthal, Acerinox, and the Autrique family (all 33%). Mexinox continued to expand into retail. The first NAFTA agreement was signed in 1994, and the Mexican government promoted it with temporary fiscal and economic incentives to develop the foreign trade. Mexinox decided to establish “Mexinox Trading” to import the hot band and qualify for these economic and fiscal incentives. For a third decade in a row, production capacity increased, as the third cold-rolling mill started operations in 1996. All three cold-rolling mills are still in operation at the mill. Eventually the temporal benefits of “Mexinox Trading” expired, and Mexinox needed to decide what to do with the company. Finally, all the retail branches were compiled in this company under one single name. In 1997, ThyssenKrupp (90%) and Acerinox (10%) became the sole owners of Mexinox, buying out the Autrique family. After NAFTA signing, Mexinox’s commercial policy changed and traditional importers were invited to be part of the Mexinox retailing network.
In Tornio, they thought they had gotten things going. The expansions were successful, the results were great and comparisons with competitors seemed to show that Tornio could withstand the pressure of competition. Tornio’s market share was 10% in Europe and 5% globally, and it was believed that they could be doubled. The following year, expansion was again considered using the familiar formula, i.e. doubling production, and was also named Tupla (Double). A couple of years earlier, the company had decided to focus more strongly on stainless steel – other business areas then included copper, base metals and technology. Just as the doubling project was being planned, AvestaSheffield contacted Tornio. A short time earlier, visitors from Avesta had visited Tornio, as they were considering replacing its cold rolling capacity with a new production line of one million tonnes. Again, discussions were on about a merger, this time that of Outokumpu and AvestaSheffield, but they were interrupted for a while when AvestaSheffield’s majority owner merged with the Dutch steel company Corus Group. In the meantime, Outokumpu made the decision to double the capacity in Tornio once again.
New chrome converter in the melt shop in 1995.
2000s
The expansion of Tornio also came up in merger discussions between Outokumpu and AvestaSheffield. As to the merger, Outokumpu wanted control, while the other party was not happy about the large expansion in Tornio and would have liked to take small steps in the entire company. A deadlock was opened when the other party hinted at expanding the Tornio project with a line combining rolling, annealing and pickling, originally planned for Avesta, which the Tornio engineers had already heard about. The companies reached an agreement, and the merger was announced in September 2000, forming AvestaPolarit, of which Outokumpu owned 55% and Corus the rest. In 2002, Outokumpu announced that it would acquire the entire share capital of AvestaPolarit, and it became Outokumpu's business area again. The information caused confusion, as the transfer of steel to the new company had been interpreted as Outokumpu giving up stainless steel. Now it seemed to be making a complete turnaround. Outokumpu’s management said that the growth strategy is still the same – it is just that it was now pursued in a new way. The expansion project had been implemented during the AvestaPolarit era and the new line was now known as RAP (rolling, annealing and pickling) and inaugurated in 2003. Once again, the project had been the largest in Finland and also one of the largest in the industrial history of the Nordics.
Mexinox also looked beyond the country’s borders in the 2000s, which was plagued by a couple of economic crises. Growth opportunities were sought in the United States, and for this purpose, the company launched the New Star project. It was yet another steel mill. This time, one of ThyssenKrupp's investment options was Alabama in the United States, and eventually a huge steel mill site was built in Calvert near Mobile. The goal was to increase market share in the NAFTA area and improve the cost position – as Outokumpu’s strategy at the time had the same elements, and Mexinox and Calvert eventually became a strategic asset for Outokumpu.
The RAP line was inaugurated in the beginning of May 2003.
2010s
The restructuring continued in the stainless steel industry. ThyssenKrupp decided to focus on its other industries and sell its stainless steel business. Outokumpu, on the other hand, had previously decided to focus on stainless steel. The deal was announced in 2012, and Outokumpu became the largest producer of stainless steel, and the Tornio and Mexinox factories merged.
The transaction was finally completed at the very end of 2012, and the new number one stainless steel company started operations at the turn of the new year. After the acquisition, Outokumpu unified its operating methods, and both Mexinox and Tornio, for example, have adopted the company's new ERP system.
The ramp-up of the Calvert factory was still in progress. A strategic asset in the Outokumpu’s business area Americas, Mexinox enabled Outokumpu to serve Mexico, the United States, Latin America and acts as a hub for finishing, customization and technical support, and Mexinox has been a critical bridge between global production and regional markets. Even in the turmoil of geopolitics and trade policy, Outokumpu's result does not depend on a single market area. The geographical expansion strengthened the company, whose main market areas are Europe and North America.
The first day of the new company was celebrated at all sites in January 2013, here in San Luis Potosí.
2020s
Outokumpu announced a new growth-focused EVOLVE strategy in 2025 and a vision to pioneer materials and technologies that power tomorrow. The vision reveals the prevailing spirit in Outokumpu to improve and develop. Innovation and technology are an important part of Outokumpu's transformation. At the same time, the company’s foundation and core business is sustainable stainless steel, which is represented by both Mexinox and Tornio. With the focusing on core business, Outokumpu has also divested the retail branch in Mexico.
Mexinox has received awards for sustainability, such as water recycling in dry areas, safety and operational development. The unit’s capacity was increased once again in the 2020s. When Outokumpu developed the world's first low-emission stainless steel, the Outokumpu Circle Green® product family, it was manufactured for the first time in Tornio. Circle Green was born when we wanted to find out what is the lowest possible amount of carbon dioxide emissions that could be achieved with current production technology. The new strategy is also about new pioneering technologies, and it includes investments primarily in technology, but once again, investments linked to improving cost-competitiveness in Europe are also planned for Tornio. The EUR 200 million investment in a new annealing and pickling line in Tornio is under review.
In our vision of pioneer materials and technologies, our evolution is based on our expertise and our people.
Coils of Circle Green in Tornio, where it was first melted in 2021.