Atlas Copco to increase drill steel production capacity

Stockholm, Sweden, April 26, 2007: Atlas Copco will invest MSEK 224 (MEUR 24) in expanding its production facility for rock drilling tools in Fagersta, Sweden, to meet expected demand from the mining and construction industries.

“We are currently running the Fagersta plant at full capacity to satisfy the very strong customer demand, and expect this investment will give us a strong base for the future,” says Björn Rosengren, President of Atlas Copco’s Construction and Mining Technique business area. “The new advanced machinery will allow a significant increase in output while maintaining a great deal of flexibility and reducing operational costs.”

Work on the expansion will begin immediately and full capacity will be available from the end of the fourth quarter of 2008. The investment entails purchases of manufacturing equipment as well as adding new floor space to the plant, which is part of the Secoroc division within Construction and Mining Technique.

Atlas Copco has experienced a prolonged period of demand from the mining industry, reflecting a high level of investment activity among customers and the high price of minerals. The Secoroc division is this year completing an earlier expansion investment of MSEK 140 at the Fagersta factory, and is also modernizing machinery at its Ockelbo factory for MSEK 26.