1. A History of
High Performance
Outokumpu and the birth
of stainless steel

2. 1913
Harry Brearley
invents stainless steel
In 1913, Englishman Harry Brearley discovered in his Sheffield laboratory that
a certain amount of chrome would stop steel from corroding. After these
discoveries, stainless steel production started in Sheffield, UK and Krefeld,
Germany. Actually, some of the Outokumpu production locations are even older
– the Dahlerbrück plant was first mentioned in the records in 1687.

3. 1920s
Stainless steel cutlery
Brearley saw how this new steel could revolutionise the cutlery industry but he
had great difficulty convincing his more conservative employers. On his own
initiative, he had knives made at local cutlers, R.F. Mosley. To begin with,
Brearley referred to his invention as “rustless steel”. It was Ernest Stuart, the
cutlery manager of Mosley’s who first referred to the new knives as “stainless”.

4. 1929
The Savoy
During the 1920s The Savoy enthusiastically embraced the Art Deco movement.
Art Deco décor and furniture was installed in the hotel and Kaspar, the Savoy’s
lucky black cat, was carved by designer Basil Ionides in 1927. The iconic
stainless steel Savoy sign over Savoy Court, designed by Sir Howard
Robertson, was installed in 1929.
Besides having the first use of stainless steel as a façade on a building, the hotel
boasted many other firsts, like private ensuites, electric lifts, constant hot and
cold water, air conditioning, steam heating, soundproof windows and even
telephones in bathrooms.

5. 1930s
Avesta - First producer to
develop Duplex Stainless Steel
By 1930 two duplex grades were commercially available from Avesta
Steelworks (where stainless production started in 1924). Grade 453E (26Cr-5Ni)
was alloyed with chromium and nickel and was intended for heat resistance,
while grade
453S (26Cr-5Ni-1Mo) added molybdenum to obtain improved aqueous corrosion
resistance. Within two years these two duplex grades made up more than 6% of
the 5500 metric tonnes of stainless steel production at Avesta Steelworks.

6. 1932
The Chrysler Building
For the first few months, this Iconic Art Deco skyscraper in New York was the
tallest structure in the world. It was also one of the first buildings featuring
stainless steel over a large exposed area.
The architect, William Van Alen, drew inspiration from machine technology for
the ornamental details on the Chrysler Building. If you look closely you’ll see
eagle hood ornaments, hubcaps and abstract images of cars.
The grade selected was 302 with a mill surface finish close to 2D. The stainless
structure has only been washed twice and still is in immaculate condition.

7. 1972
The development of AOD
The AOD process revolutionised stainless steelmaking. It lowered the cost
of production of stainless steel significantly. It allowed operators to use electric
arc furnaces for melting stainless and carbon steel scraps with desired amounts
of low cost high carbon ferrochromium.
The decarburization operation was moved out of the electric furnace and into the
newly designed converter. The oxidation-reduction operation could be
conducted
at very high productivity rates. Additionally, the quality of the alloys produced
was improved. The process was adopted by major stainless steel producers at a
very rapid rate. The AOD process is now the predominant method for making
stainless steel in the world.

8. 1992
Avesta Sheffield
International Merger
This was the first major International merger in the stainless steel industry,
between Avesta AB of Sweden and British Steel Stainless UK, to form the
second largest stainless steel producer in the world. At the time only Usinor
Sacilor of France was larger. British Steel had a 40% stake in the newly formed
venture. The new logo incorporated the Bison, which was symbol of the former
Avesta company. Bison have lived in Avesta (in central Sweden) since 1924, as
long as Avesta has produced stainless steel. Avesta was also the first producer
in the world to roll 2000mm wide stainless steel coils in the early 1980s.

9. 2001
AvestaPolarit Formed
Outokumpu Steel and Avesta Sheffield announce a merger to create
AvestaPolarit, a world class international independent stainless steel company.
AvestaPolarit instantly became the second largest stainless steel producer in the
world with 8,700 employees and main production facilities in Finland, Sweden,
the UK and the USA. With a combined stainless steel slab capacity of about 1.7
million tonnes, AvestaPolarit’s combined sales amount to over EUR 3 billion.
The name AvestaPolarit was derived from Avesta Sheffield’s main production
site
in Sweden “Avesta” and Outokumpu’s trade name for stainless “Polarit”.
By 2004 Outokumpu had acquired the majority of shares in the company, and
the company name and logo was changed to Outokumpu.
Outokumpu is a town north east of Helsinki, meaning “Strange Hill”. It is derived
from a small hill in the town that gave off a strange glow at night. The company’s
origins were in copper mining in 1910.

10. 2003
Outokumpu’s RAP 5 line
The production of cold rolled stainless steel coils from hot strip typically consists
of a series of separate processes: annealing, pickling, cold rolling and skin pass
rolling. Outokumpu’s line in Tornio Finland, supplied by Danieli, is a
technological evolution allowing for just one integrated processing line. The RAP
5 line (Rolling-Annealing-Pickling) incorporates all the processes in a continuous
line: tandem cold rolling mill, annealing furnace, pickling section, skin pass mill
and tension leveling unit. The line is 800 metres long and occupies all three
floors of the No. 2 cold rolling plant. The horizontal loopers allow the RAP line to
be used continuously and when fully loaded, there is up to 4000 metres of strip
in the line.
Outokumpu, Tornio, Finland
• Purpose built building, 800 metres long
• RAP 5 line runs on 3 levels
• Line holds 4000 metres of continuous strip
• This equates to nearly 300 tonne of strip (6mm x
1500mm)

11. 2013
Outokumpu acquires Inoxum
In late 2013 industrial giant ThyssenKrupp completes the sale of stainless steel
company Inoxum to Finnish competitor Outokumpu. The deal creates a new
global steel leader and marks the end of an era for Essen-based ThyssenKrupp.
The deal makes Outokumpu the market leader in the sector, with roughly 40%
of European market share and around a 12% piece of the global pie. The two
companies first announced the sale in February 2013, but had been working
on terms to complete the deal. Investigators from the European Commission
ruled in November the deal would not breach competition laws.

12. We believe in a world
that lasts forever.
Head Office, Outokumpu Pty Ltd
134–136 Fitzgerald Road, North Laverton, 3026
Victoria, Australia
Telephone +61 (0)3 9369 3344
Facsimile +61 (0)3 9360 9355 outokumpu.com/australia