HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 25, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Worldwide industrial services company Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) announced today its receipt of a substantial $1 million award to supply metal bar grating products to the ConocoPhillips Wood River coker and refinery expansion project in Illinois, as market conditions in the North America industrial and infrastructure sectors served by Harsco's IKG Industries grating division remain strong, further reinforced by the aftermath of Hurricanes Ike and Gustav.
The Minerals Management Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior estimates that some 1,600 oil and gas production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were exposed to hurricane-force winds and waves during Hurricane Ike, including nearly 50 platforms that were destroyed. Harsco said its IKG Industries division is already seeing increased order activity as a result of the hurricanes and is expecting these orders to continue as additional reconstruction and repair plans are established. Harsco's durable open-grid grating is used extensively in safety platforms and walkways on offshore oil and gas platforms as well as a broad number of flooring, mezzanine and other applications for warehouses, factories and infrastructure plants such as the Wood River coker and refinery expansion project noted above. Now underway, the Wood River project will expand upgrading capacity as well as increase production of clean transportation fuels for the U.S. Midwest market, increasing total crude oil refining capacity by 50,000 barrels a day. Robust order activity for Harsco's grating products is one of several factors that have contributed to the solid performance of the Company's Minerals and Rail Services and Products group, which last quarter posted a 17 percent increase in sales over the preceding quarter.
Harsco Corporation is one of the world's leading diversified industrial services companies, serving key industries that play a fundamental role in worldwide economic growth and development, including infrastructure, metals and railways. The Company employs approximately 23,000 people in 50 countries of operation and recorded 2007 sales of $3.7 billion. Harsco's common stock is a component of the S&P MidCap 400 Index and the Russell 1000 Index. Additional information can be found at www.harsco.com.
The Harsco Corporation logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=361