Valmet to strengthen its service operations in Brazil

Published Aug 21, 2000 00.00.00 +2 GMT

Valmet will expand its service operations in Brazil. Valmet has signed a letter of intent to acquire the majority of the assets of a factory owned by Beloit Industrial Ltda., a company located in Campinas in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The deal includes the site, buildings, and machinery and equipment. It is planned that certain of the factory’s personnel will transfer to Valmet’s employment later this year. The agreed price of the deal is USD 7.2 million.

The intention is to use the new factory to deliver maintenance services primarily to Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America.

The service network covers all the most important market areas in the world. It includes 31 service centers located in several European countries, North America, Australia and Asia, and employs approximately 2,800 persons. A new service center is currently under construction at Wuxi, near Shanghai, China.

The deal in Brazil is related to the acquisition this spring of Beloit’s roll covering division and aftermarket operations. It supports Metso’s Future Care business concept, by which Metso will strengthen its position in the rapidly growing maintenance and rebuild markets.

Metso Corporation's Fiber and Paper Technology business area, Valmet, is the world's leading supplier of technology, systems and equipment for the pulp, paper, converting and panelboard industries. In 1999, Valmet's net sales were EUR 1.7 billion and it employed 10,600 persons.

Metso Corporation is a global supplier of process industry machinery and systems. Metso's business areas are Fiber and Paper Technology, Automation and Control Technology, and Machinery. The net sales of Metso Corporation were EUR 3.4 billion in 1999 and the personnel totaled approximately 23,000. Metso Corporation is listed on the Helsinki and New York Stock Exchanges.

For further information, please contact: Juhani Pakkala, President, Valmet Corporation, Tel. +358 40 755 9972