HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 8, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Worldwide industrial services and products company Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) announced today that its Patent Construction Systems access services division will significantly expand its rental equipment and service support to the construction of the new MidAmerican Energy Company's Council Bluffs Energy Center Unit 4 electric power plant in Iowa. The latest contract increases Patent's role by a projected $2.5 million to a total of more than $3 million.
The award from lead contractor Kvaerner-Songer calls for Patent to supply its QES(R) Quick Erect Scaffolding and Pro-1000(R) motorized suspended work platforms on a rental services basis over the next 24 months during the project's structural steel construction, installation and tie-in phase. In addition, Patent will furnish on-site job supervision and field office administration to the project, together with its proprietary Scaffold Tracker(R) field software that provides customers with real-time cost management data. Patent is already supplying its LOGIK(R) concrete forming systems and GASS(R) aluminum shoring systems to the project, also on a rental basis, to form and support the plant's concrete foundations, pedestal bases, and turbine pedestal slabs.
"Major industrial projects such as this highlight Patent's ability to utilize our full breadth of product lines to support every phase of construction, from the foundations to the roof supports," said Robert Safier, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Patent Construction Systems division.
The new Council Bluffs Energy Center Unit 4 power plant will be the first in the nation to incorporate advanced supercritical technology for converting coal into electricity. When completed during the summer of 2007, the plant is expected to produce more than 800 megawatts of electricity, enough to power more than 600,000 homes.
The contract reflects Patent's ongoing "Power Alliance" strategy for targeting increased market share within the power generation market. The division has formed a multi-branch team, drawn from its regions having major power plant operations experience, to focus on increasing its support to new power plant construction and expansion projects as well as recurring power plant maintenance cycles.
The North America-based Patent Construction Systems division and the international SGB division comprise Harsco's Access Services segment, the world's foremost provider of scaffolding, shoring, forming and other access solutions for major non-residential construction and industrial maintenance projects. The segment recorded worldwide revenues of nearly $620 million last year.
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 containment and control technologies, and engineered products and services to customers worldwide. The company employs 18,000 people at over 400 locations in more than 40 countries of operation. Additional information about Harsco, including its Access Services segment businesses, can be found at www.harsco.com.