Alloy surcharges were introduced during 2004 and 2005 and the share of orders with this variable price component is steadily increasing. This gives a much higher security for Åkers as a large share of the volatility in the raw material market is passed on to the customers. 

“Order intake was 10% lower than for the same period 2007 but we don’t see this as a sign of a declining market. With the current order backlog, 2008 is already sold out for most products and we expect to run production at full capacity utilization all through the year”, says Bengt Nilsson, President and CEO. 

In the first quarter of 2008, a number of investment projects, aiming at removing bottlenecks in the group’s production network, have been approved. This added capacity will come on stream from the later part of this year and during 2009. 

One highly prioritized focus area for Åkers is health and safety. In February a kick off meeting took place in Brussels, where all production, safety and human resource managers participated. The group’s objective has been set to decrease the number of lost time accidents per million worked hours with at least 25% annually.

You find the full Interim report Q1 2008 in our press room.