The world's leading stainless steel manufacturer, Outokumpu of Finland, announced Wednesday that it officially opened its processing and distribution center in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province. It is reported that the investment of the center amounted to 20 million euros (about 170 million yuan), which is the first stainless steel entity enterprise established by Outokumpu in China.

At the launch ceremony, Lars Backstrom, Finnish ambassador to China, said that in 1990, only three Finnish enterprises invested in China, and now the number has become more than 260. "China is the world's largest and most potential market, any aspiration to become the world's first Finnish enterprises, should be located in China."

"Consumption of stainless steel in the European market dropped by 25% in 2009, compared with an 18% increase in China over the same period. According to the forecast, the demand for stainless steel in the Chinese market will increase by about 15% this year, which is why we set up factories here." Outokumpu CEO Lantenin said.

Data show that Outokumpu has a market share of about 5% in the global stainless steel market, but it has a market share of nearly 50% in some special products such as duplex stainless steel. At present, Asian markets, including China, account for only about 14% of Outokumpu's global sales, and there is still much room for improvement. "The purpose of setting up a processing and distribution center in Kunshan is to get closer to Chinese customers and meet some individualized needs in product transportation and technical specifications." Lantenin said.

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