HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 27, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Worldwide industrial services and products company Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) announced today that its MultiServ mill services division has been awarded a ten-year renewal of its on-site services to Brazil's largest steelmaker, the Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) works.
The renewal, valued at an estimated $85 million over its duration, doubles the length of the prior contract and provides a platform for further growth in MultiServ's on-site responsibilities as CSN continues to expand its annual production volumes, currently approaching six million tons per year and up almost 20 percent from six years ago. At current levels, MultiServ anticipates that its average annual contract revenues will grow by nearly 13 percent over the previous contract.
The award continues a successful 25-year relationship at CSN, where the division's responsibilities include on-site metal recovery, slag and refractory sales, and scrap yard management, all of which tie closely to the mill's ongoing production volumes. MultiServ plans to invest in a number of performance-improving equipment upgrades in support of the contract, consistent with Harsco's stated capital investment strategies for long-term growth. Plans being considered by the mill to possibly increase production by as much as an additional 50 percent within the next few years would further add to MultiServ's scope.
The MultiServ division operates at more than 160 mills in over 30 countries, making it the world's single largest provider of on-site, outsourced mill services to the steel and metals industries. The division offers the world's leading producers a comprehensive portfolio of more than 50 available services that can be tailored to meet specific mill requirements, including integrated materials handling, semi-finished and finished product management, and by-product recovery and recycling.
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 mill services division, can be found at http://www.harsco.com.
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