Press releases, Story date: Tuesday, June 22 1999

Kemira Chemicals and the City of Helsinki sign letter of intent to establish water treatment company

Kemira Chemicals and the City of Helsinki have signed a letter of intent to establish a joint venture company in the water utilities field. Kemira would hold 51% and Helsinki 49% of the proposed company.

The company, Kemwater Services Oy, will make use of the special skills acquired by the Kemira Chemicals' Kemwater unit and the Helsinki city company Helsinki Water in the field of drinking and wastewater purification.

Helsinki Water has introduced advanced treatment processes such as the use of ozone and active carbon in drinking water treatment. It has also built a waste water treatment plant in Viikinmäki, Helsinki, which uses the latest technology in the industry.

The Baltic Sea region is one of the most important market areas for Kemira Chemicals. The company's Kemwater unit is one of the world's leading manufacturers of coagulants for water treatment. It has production facilities nearly in 30 countries including the Nordic countries, Germany, Estonia and Poland.

The new company will implement water treatment applications, construct plants, participate in operation and train personnel for the evermore demanding requirements. The company will offer new employment opportunities both to current personnel and to new employees in a number of fields. The main market areas are Finland and nearby countries.

Further information: City of Helsinki, tel. +358 9 169 2260 Martin Meinander, Deputy Mayor; Helsinki Water, tel. +358 9 4734 2020 Jorma Tsubari, Managing Director; Kemira Chemicals Oy, tel. +358 10 862 1605, Yrjö Sipilä, President; Kemira Chemicals, Kemwater Unit, tel. +358 10 862 1675, Hannu Luhtala, Vice President