PRESS RELEASE                 Helsinki, July 24, 2013   

A fire occurred at the plastics and chemical warehouse of the Aspo Group company Telko in Kiev, Ukraine in the afternoon of July 23, 2013. The fire was quickly controlled and extinguished. The fire caused burns to one employee of the warehouse, who is receiving hospital treatment.

The fire occurred when a tank truck was unloading its cargo. Local authorities are studying the cause of the fire. The warehouse is owned and managed by an external service provider. Telko owns the chemicals and plastics raw materials stored in two separate buildings in the area. A small amount of chemicals and plastics raw materials and part of the warehouse containing plastics raw materials were damaged by fire during the accident. The chemicals destroyed were hydrocarbons, which cause no special hazard to humans or the environment when they burn.

At the moment, it is estimated that the fire will have no material effect on the continuity of Telko's operations in Ukraine. Telko has another warehouse available for its use in Kiev. The economic effect on Telko of the fire and extinguishing it should remain reasonably minor. Similarly, according to current estimates, the accident will have no material effect on Aspo's earnings.

For further information, please contact:
Kalle Kettunen, Managing Director, Telko, phone +358 9 521 7201, or +358 9 5211 

Telko is an international expert and distributor of plastics raw materials and industrial chemicals seeking growth, especially in the emerging markets of the East. In 2012, Telko's net sales were EUR 238 million, and the company employed 265 professionals in 16 countries. Telko is one of Aspo Group's strong corporate brands. www.telko.com

Aspo is a conglomerate that owns and develops business operations in the Northern Europe and growth markets focusing on demanding B-to-B customers. Our strong company brands - ESL Shipping, Leipurin, Telko and Kaukomarkkinat - aim to be the market leaders in their sectors. They are responsible for their own operations, customer relationships, and the development of these. Together they generate Aspo's goodwill. Aspo's Group structure and business operations are continually developed without any predefined schedules.

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www.telko.com, www.aspo.com