ÅF and CTS create a world-class consulting engineering organisation for the pulp

ÅF and CTS create a world-class consulting engineering organisation for the pulp and paper industry The ÅF Group (ÅF) and CTS Engineering OY (CTS) have entered into a co- operation agreement covering joint marketing and execution of engineering projects for the pulp and paper industry. As part of the basis for this co- operation, ÅF-IPK, a fully owned subsidiary of ÅF, is signing an agreement to acquire up to 33 per cent of the outstanding shares in CTS Engineering OY. According to the agreement CTS has also secured an option to acquire up to 9,9 percent of the shares of ÅF-IPK. Mats Junghem, Managing Director of ÅF-IPK and Timo Juvonen, Managing Director of CTS state: "This co-operation will create a world-class consulting engineering organisation for the pulp and paper industry. We are convinced it will provide opportunities for our customers, our shareholders and our employees. We will now intensify the work with integrating organisations and tools to fully realise the potential in terms of increased capability, increased market share and better resource utilisation." CTS was founded in 1973 and is now one of the leading consultancy engineering companies in the pulp and paper industry. It has 230 employees in Finland. ÅF, Sweden's leading industrial engineering consultant with over 2200 employees. Turnover for 2000 was approximately SEK 1900 million for ÅF and CTS together. Turnover in pulp and paper activities was approximately SEK 500 million. ÅF-IPK is the hub for ÅFs pulp and paper- oriented activities. Combined, the group will provide industry customers with a strong pan- European engineering organisation with local knowledge and project execution capabilities and with competence and resources to handle everything from specialised studies to the largest implementation projects. The companies within this group include CTS in Finland and ÅF companies in Sweden, Great Britain (ÅF-QPS), France (Chleq-Froté) , Spain (INCEPAL) and Germany (Maier Papiertechnologie). Each of these companies has a strong position in their home markets within the pulp and paper industry. The group companies have become recognised for innovative solutions and flexible, customer-oriented work practices. Examples of recent projects by the group include several leading-edge installations including · The world`s largest LWC machine for Metso / Haindl Papier at Augsburg, Germany · The new off-line coater for MoDo Paper at Husum in Sweden. · The new corrugated medium machine based on 100% recycled fibres for Propapier in Burg, Germany · The new off-line coater for Condat in France · The worlds fastest machine for corrugated medium based on 100% recycled fibres at the SAICA 3 mill in Zaragoza, Spain · The world´s largest paper machine for Papierfabrik Palm in Wörth, Germany Simultaneous pressconferences will be held on Tuesday morning February 13 at 8.00(local time) in Stockholm(Operaterassen) and at 9.00(local time) in Helsinki(Palace hotel). Questions concerning these meetings may be addressed to ÅF +46 (0)8-657 11 21. The ÅF Group Corporate Information ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/02/12/20010212BIT00730/bit0002.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/02/12/20010212BIT00730/bit0002.pdf