With the alloy surcharges, introduced a couple of years ago, it has, to large extent, been possible for Åkers to pass these increases on to the customers.

Order intake picked up in the second quarter and was 20 percent above last years level. Production has been stable throughout the quarter and even if we were pre-producing for shipments to be made during the summer, sales were 7 percent above the same period 2007.

During the quarter the company launched a number of improvement initiatives, regarding working capital and the cost structure. These activities will last throughout the rest of the year. Further initiatives will follow in the coming months.

The improvement work regarding health and safety continued to give good results, with fewer lost time accidents and a better functioning incident reporting.

The final details for setting up an Åkers trading company in China were settled in the quarter. This trading company will sell the products from the joint venture Shanxi Åkers TISCO Roll Co.

In the last days of May, it was announced that the Scandinavian private equity fund ALTOR Fund II (“Altor”) will become the majority shareholder of Åkers. This transaction was warmly welcomed by the management of Åkers.

“Åkers is a company with fantastic opportunities. We are excited about having Altor as the majority owner. With their excellent track record in developing industrial companies, I believe that this is extremely positive for Åkers and we look forward to accelerating our development agenda together with them” said Bengt Nilsson, President and CEO, Åkers Group.

The full Interim report for the second quarter is found in our Press room.