Outokumpu continues talks at local political level

Outokumpu continues talks at local political level

After talks with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) parliamentary group of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) in the mid of April, company representatives met today with members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) parliamentary group to exchange views. On their visit to Krefeld, the NRW politicians were accompanied by the new Saarland Prime Minister, Anke Rehlinger.

"At its locations, Outokumpu sees itself as part of the local community," says Dietmar Paul, Senior Human Resources Business Partner. “That is why an active dialogue with all local stakeholders is very important to us. Only together, we can cope with the challenges that our industry is facing.”

Topic of the discussions were amongst other the numerous measures that Outokumpu has taken in the recent years to make the company's production and supply chains more sustainable. Sustainability in all production areas, but also in procurement, is of great importance to Outokumpu and one of the core elements of the corporate strategy.

Paul Schlimgen, SVP Customer Experience, Digital Sales & Global Marketing: “The stainless steel produced by Outokumpu consists of more than 90 percent recycled steel scrap – which helps minimizing the need for primary raw materials. Already today, the company's carbon footprint is 70 percent lower than the global industry average. And last year, Outokumpu has committed to the 1.5 degree climate target of the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) and is currently the only stainless steel manufacturer to commit to these ambitious CO₂ reductions.”

The group also spoke about questions related to the further development of the Krefeld site. Currently, a new production plant is set up here, with which the stainless steel scrap that accumulates during the production in the Krefeld mill is remelted and processed into high-quality stainless steel powder – a raw material which is used in the growing segment of metallic 3D printing (additive manufacturing). With the construction of this plant, 14 new jobs will also be created at the Krefeld site. Compared to the total workforce, this is only a small increase. However, with the new business field, Outokumpu expands its already diverse customer base – which is, from experience, a good foundation in such a volatile environment as the stainless steel market.

“When we talk about sustainability, it is often about environment, climate and supply chains. But for us, sustainability is also about people – in the company, but also at our partners and in our neighborhood. That is why the dialogue on local level is so important to us," says Hasim Cantürk, Chairman of the Krefeld and the General Works Council. “Our employees are what defines Outokumpu. We also want to get young people excited about stainless steel and Outokumpu, and, in particular, win female junior staff for the technical professions in our company. Promoting diversity and inclusion is very important to us.”

Outokumpu has one of its two modern vocational training centers in Germany at the Krefeld site, in which in addition to own trainees also trainees from other companies are educated to some extent. Currently, Outokumpu has 37 own technical apprentices at the Krefeld site, 15 new will join in September, who the company usually takes on permanently after their vocational training.

Group photo from left to right, front row: Ina Spanier-Oppermann (Member of NRW State Parliament, Candidate for NRW State Parliament), Dietmar Paul (Outokumpu, Senior Human Resources Business Partner), Tanja Jansen (Candidate for NRW State Parliament), Hasim Cantürk (Outokumpu, Chairman of the Krefeld and the General Works Council) and Anke Rehlinger (Prime Minister Saarland). Back row: Paul Schlimgen (Outokumpu, SVP-Head of Customer Experience & Digital Sales), Kristina Reichelt (Outokumpu, Senior Manager Head of Annealing & Pickling Line), Stella Rütten (Deputy Party and Fraction Leader Krefeld) and Udo Schiefner (Member of the German Parliament).

For more information please contact:

Claudia Fischer
Communications Manager Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 2151 832123
Mobile: +49 (0) 176 56907575
E-mail: claudia.fischer@outokumpu.com