Demidovsky Consumer Goods (Demidovsky), Russia's leading aluminium non-stick cookware producer, has agreed a supply contract with IKEA, the global leader in manufacturing and vending home furnishing products. Demidovsky is part of the SUAL Group, a global top ten aluminium business.

Following an inspection by IKEA representatives in April 2004, Demidovsky was certified for compliance with the initial requirements of IKEA’s Supplier Production Quality Standards certification process. The next step involved supplying a pilot batch of Demidovsky products to IKEA in order to pass certification for end-product quality. According to results of the production and finished product certification, IKEA and Demidovsky have now signed a supply contract for more than 50.000 non-stick cookware items to be delivered by Demidovsky to the IKEA’s worldwide network.

At a press-conference held today in Ekaterinburg ?ke Wistr?m, IKEA Commercial Representative said: «Russia is the priority supply market for IKEA. We’re aiming to increase the number of our Russian suppliers and the range of products we purchase from them. We’re very pleased that we have entered into partnership with Demidovsky, where we see the level of technology, quality control and HSE attitude corresponding to the high IKEA standards. When we started our partnership with the enterprise, we were surprised not so much by their technologies and equipment, but mostly by the professionalism and efficiency of the plant’s management team. This is a very good start, and in future we hope to extend our cooperation further.»

Commenting on this announcement, Inessa Smirnova, Director General of Demidovsky, said: «Thanks to SUAL Group's ongoing investment in 2002, we were able to launch a new line of non-stick kitchenware using a unique technology, extend the plant's economy-class product range; and introduce ScovO® cookware, which combines the best balance of price and quality. We have bene able to offer this product at an optimal price to IKEA.»

Notes to Editors

About SUAL

The SUAL Group is a vertically integrated business among the ten largest aluminium producers of the world.

Annually, operations of the SUAL Group:

• Mine some 4.4 million tonnes of bauxite
• Refine more than 2 million tonnes of alumina
• Produce over 890,000 tonnes of primary aluminium
• Produce more than 50,000 tonnes of silicon
• Manufacture more than 110,000 tonnes of aluminium products

About Demidovsky Consumer Goods

ZAO Demidovsky (Kamensk-Uralsky, Sverdlovsk Region) is the leading Russian manufacturer of matt, polished and non-stick aluminium cookware. It was incorporated in October 2000 and is now part of the SUAL Group. Its share in the Russian domestic market is 13 per cent in the non-stick cookware sector and up to 40 per cent in the matt aluminium cookware sector. The Demidovsky plant is the first in Russia to be licensed by DuPont (USA) to manufacture cookware under the world-known brand-names of Teflon® Classic and Teflon® Platinum. The plant’s ScovO brand products won «Good of the Year» and «100 best products of Russia» awards several times.

About IKEA

IKEA is the global leader in manufacturing and vending home furnishing products. Today, IKEA Group is the largest global trading network with 172 stores operating in 22 countries around the world. IKEA has been operating in Russia since 1990. The overall volume of IKEA’s investments into Russian economy to date has amounted to more than USD 500 million.