On 1 June 2010 inauguration ceremonies for Outokumpu’s new service centre in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, China took place. Establishment of the service centre supports the Group’s strategy of expanding operations in Asia and serving end-user and project customers with value-added special products. Analyst estimates (SMR) indicate that national demand for stainless steel will grow by more than 15% in 2010. Outokumpu’s offering to the Chinese market consists mainly of special grades, especially duplex grades, developed to satisfy the most demanding applications in the energy, petrochemical, transportation and pulp and paper sectors. Outokumpu service centres stock and process stainless coil and plate to meet specific customer requirements, adding a high level of flexibility in terms of both product dimensions and delivery schedules. The Kunshan service centre has an annual capacity of some 30,000tns of stainless steel. Processing facilities include a cut-to-length line, a water-jet cutting machine, a plasma portal cutting machine and a laser cutting machine. The investment totalled some EUR 20 million. The service centre employs approximately 50 people.