Mint of Finland will close down its operations at Myntverket, Eskilstuna

Mint of Finland is a public limited company that operates under market-based context. Minting or production of coins has traditionally been a national issue. However, for some years also the minting industry has been consolidating which means that major international players are expanding their activities in order do have a profitable and growing business.

“In the minting industry the more you produce the more competitive you are. In this context, national mint only has a chance to survive with strong domestic market or success in export markets. Mint of Finland has tried to keep the business going at Myntverket with several attempts, but the long term financial outlook is negative and there is no possibility for Myntverket producing coins”, says Paul Gustafsson, Mint of Finland’s CEO.

“We feel sad to close down the production in Eskilstuna. To build a competitive international mint on the existing basement and brand of Myntverket, would require substantial investments in both human resources and technology. As there is an over capacity of minting in the world and especially in Europe we decided, after a careful consideration, not to pursue such venture. But we will leave the company name alive and hope there will be opportunities to gear it up again sometime in the future”, summarizes Paul Gustafsson from Mint of Finland.

For further information:
Henna Karjalainen
Communications and Marketing Manager
Mint of Finland
+ 358 50 575 9197
henna.karjalainen(at)mint.fi

Mint of Finland Ltd. is the leading mint in Scandinavia and the Baltics. It is the sole owner of the German coin-blank manufacturer, Saxonia EuroCoin GmbH, AB Myntverket (the mint of Sweden), and holds a 50 percent share in the Norwegian Det Norske Myntverket. Mint of Finland is dedicated to designing, marketing and minting coins. The company is owned by the Finnish state. Mint of Finland produces metallic currency, commemorative and collector coins, as well as coin sets. During 2011, Mint of Finland will issue six new collector coins and seven provincial coins. Finns are able to see how coins are produced at the ‘About a coin’ exhibition at Heureka, the Finnish Science Centre. For further information about the 2011 events, go to: www.mint.fi