Atlas Copco to increase manufacturing capacity for hydraulic breakers

Stockholm, Sweden, July 17, 2006: Atlas Copco will expand its production facilities for hydraulic breakers in Kalmar, Sweden, and in Essen, Germany. In parallel, the capacity of the plant in Rousse, Bulgaria will increase. The investment in the three plants has a value of close to MSEK 200.

“The demand for rig-mounted hydraulic breakers has increased during the last years, and to be able to meet the need we have decided to expand our production facilities,” says Björn Rosengren, Business Area President, Construction and Mining Technique. “Three years ago we restructured our breaker production, concentrating the manufacturing of small breakers to Sweden, and medium and heavy breakers to Germany. This split has given us the opportunity to develop further both products and capacity utilization.” Following the high demand for hydraulic breakers, the demand for working tools has also increased. To boost the manufacturing capacity of these, part of the investment is made in a new heat treatment facility in Germany. The construction work will start during the third quarter of 2006 and continue over a two year period. The expansion will lead to new employment at all three plants. The production plants are part of the Construction Tools division within the Construction and Mining Technique business area.