HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 2, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Worldwide industrial services and products company Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) announced today that its Harsco Track Technologies (HTT) division has secured an additional rail grinder order from China, adding to HTT's growing international presence in that market.
The new rail grinder is scheduled for delivery by the end of this year to the Tianjin Binhai Mass Transit Development Co., Ltd., which is responsible for construction and expansion of the light rail system in Tianjin, one of China's largest industrial and port cities with a population in excess of 10 million. Terms of the order were not disclosed. The selection of HTT's equipment for the Tianjin system was facilitated by the Inabensa unit of Abengoa, one of Spain's largest engineering and project management companies, which is assisting Tianjin Binhai Mass Transit on its system infrastructure requirements.
In 2003, China's Ministry of Railways placed HTT's largest-ever single contract for a range of railway track maintenance equipment, joining recent orders from the U.K., Europe, India and elsewhere that reflect the division's expanding strategies for international growth. In China's transit sector, the division has also supplied similar grinder units to China's Guangzhou Metro and Shenzhen Metro systems under separate orders. Harsco Track Technologies is a leading global source for over 140 types and models of work equipment and services used in the maintenance, renewal, and new construction of railway track.
Rail grinding is emerging as one of the railway industry's most effective maintenance practices for extending rail life and reducing the potential for rail failures. Regular re-profiling of rail surfaces for proper wheel/rail contact reduces surface stresses and better controls the risk of surface-level fatigue cracks from spreading through the rail, while also reducing track noise, a key factor for urban transit systems. As one of the world's leading specialists in rail grinding equipment and services, HTT has developed and produced over 75 such systems for major U.S. and international customers in just the past three years.
Harsco Corporation is a $2.5 billion, diversified industrial services and engineered products company employing 18,000 people in more than 40 countries of operation. Harsco's market-leading businesses provide mill services, access services, gas and fluid control products, and other infrastructure products and services to customers worldwide. Additional information about Harsco, including its Harsco Track Technologies division, can be found at www.harsco.com.
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