Stockholm, Sweden-based Atlas Copco will invest SEK 224 million (U.S. $33.3 million) in expanding its production facility for rock drilling tools in Fagersta, Sweden, to meet expected demand from the mining and construction industries.

“We are currently running the Fagersta plant at full capacity to satisfy the strong customer demand, and expect this investment will give us a strong base for the future,” said Björn Rosengren, president of Atlas Copco’s Construction and Mining Technique business area.

Work on the expansion will begin immediately and full capacity will be available from the end of the fourth quarter of 2008. The investment entails purchases of manufacturing equipment as well as adding new floor space to the plant, which is part of the Secoroc division within Construction and Mining Technique.