Åkers total sales in 2007 reached 3,196 MSEK, which is a year on year increase of 20 percent. Profit before net financial items and tax amounted to 280 MSEK, an increase of 55 percent. 

“Åkers has undergone a number of changes over the year, with the establishment of our joint venture in China being the most spectacular of these. Over the course of the year a new business plan has been adopted, the organisational structure has been changed and several key recruitments have also been completed,” says President and CEO Bengt Nilsson.

The company is confident that the strong demand and well-filled order books will not be a passing trend. Intensifying the sales effort, increasing production capacity and improving efficiency across the board is an ongoing process.

Global production of crude steel in 2007 reached a staggering 1,344 million tonnes, which is a year on year increase of 8 percent and not far short of twice the figure of ten years ago. Rolls are central production tools in the rolling mills where products such as steel sheet, beams and rods are shaped from metal slabs and billets. The demand for rolls is primarily driven by production volume, which is why the market in which Åkers is active has changed dramatically over the past ten years. From a situation of over supply and painful downsizing of manufacturing capacity, the rapid increase in demand has given the roll industry a whole new momentum.