History

In Finland, economic development in the late 1930s brought out the need for a domestic metal factory. The decision to build a factory was made in 1938, and Pori was selected as the location. Construction begun just as a major war was about to erupt. The factory was completed in the fall of 1940, during interim peace. Three quarters of production went to military supplies, and after the war, the factory took part in war reparations. Pori’s copper and nickel processing plant, which employed over 2,000 workers in early 1960s at best, was the largest unit in Outokumpu.

In 2000, Outokumpu decided to focus on stainless steel. Outokumpu sold its Harjavalta copper smeltery and Pori’s copper electrolysis plant to the Swedish company Boliden AB in 2004, and sold the majority of its copper business to a Swedish private equity company Nordic Capital in 2005. In May 2006, the sold company was renamed Luvata Oy.

Previously, Outokumpu’s subsidiary Outokumpu Technology Oyj formed one area of business in Outokumpu. In October 2006, Outokumpu sold the majority of the subsidiary company’s shares to third party investors, after which the company was listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. In the spring 2007, Outokumpu Technology Oyj changed its name to Outotec Oyj. The copper tube manufacturing Outokumpu Copper Tube and Brass division was not included in the trade. In April 2008, Outokumpu sold its remaining copper tube business to Cupori Group Oy.
In 2011, Luvata Oy sold its rolling mill operations to the German corporation Aurubis AG.
In 2017, Nordic Capital sold Luvata’s business to the Japanese Mitsubishi Materials Corporation.