HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 25, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Worldwide industrial services and products company Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) announced today that its MultiServ mill services division has been selected to provide a range of on-site mill services at Arcelor's new Carinox stainless steel works now under construction in Belgium. The initial ten-year contract, scheduled to begin in 2005, has an anticipated value in excess of $140 million, making it one of the largest single awards ever received by the MultiServ division.
The Carinox works will be an all-new electric meltshop and slab caster facility adjoining Arcelor's existing Carlam rolling mill in the Walloon region south of Brussels. Annual production from the new Carinox meltshop is expected to reach one million metric tons by early 2008, with the first slab scheduled to be cast in the latter half of next year. The Carinox facility will replace two smaller stainless steel works in France also served by MultiServ that are slated for closure over the next two years as Arcelor restructures and consolidates its stainless steel operations.
Announcing the contract, MultiServ division president and CEO Geoffrey D. H. Butler said, "This strategically important project enables us to further our relationship with the industry's leading steelmaker in what may well be one of the last new mills to be constructed in Europe in the near to medium term. It also adds to our long-term core business within the high value-added stainless steel market, with the opportunity to generate enhanced Economic Value Added (EVA(r)) performance over the operations being replaced."
MultiServ's round-the-clock responsibilities at Carinox will include the management and handling of incoming scrap and its delivery to the meltshop; liquid slag pot carrying; and comprehensive slab management services that will include the operation and maintenance of the customer's four automated slab grinders. MultiServ expects to employ over 100 people at its Carinox operations.
The new contract continues Harsco's stated strategies for growth in its core industrial services businesses, led by the MultiServ mill services division. At December 31, 2003, the estimated future value of Harsco's worldwide mill services contracts totaled approximately $3.4 billion, up 13% from the previous year, while 2003 revenues from mill services totaled close to $830 million, up 19% from the previous year. Harsco's MultiServ division is the world's largest provider of on-site, outsourced mill services to the steel and metals industry, operating under long-term contracts at more than 160 mills in over 30 countries and providing Harsco with a solid and predictable revenue and cash flow base.
Harsco Corporation is a diversified, worldwide industrial services and products company with annual sales in excess of $2 billion. Harsco's market-leading businesses provide mill services, access services, gas technologies, and engineered products and services to major industries around the globe. The Company employs 18,000 people at over 400 locations in more than 40 countries of operation. Additional information about Harsco, including its MultiServ division, can be found at http://www.harsco.com.
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