HARRISBURG, Pa., July 7, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) Worldwide industrial services and products company Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) announced today that its Heckett MultiServ division has been awarded a new three-year renewable contract for steel mill services in France with potential revenues of approximately $6 million over its term.
The contract from Lamines Marchands Europeens S.A. (LME) for its Valenciennes electric arc furnace (EAF) plant in Northern France marks a new mill services location for Heckett MultiServ and an entree into the responsibilities held by the incumbent contractor, who had been operating as the site's sole mill services provider since 1988. Heckett MultiServ will start work in October 2003, providing a number of core services including EAF slag digging and removal, scrap lancing, and on-site material handling. The contract is forecast to generate positive Economic Value Added (EVA(r)) benefit from its first year of operation.
LME's Valenciennes mill produces approximately 660,000 tons of steel billets annually, with investments underway to increase the plant's rolling mill capacity. The mill operates as a subsidiary of the Beltrame Group, one of Europe's leading manufacturers of merchant bars for general industrial use and of special sections for the shipbuilding and earthmoving sectors, while Arcelor, the world's largest steelmaker, also holds a minority interest.
Heckett MultiServ is the world's leading provider of on-site, outsourced mill services to the steel and metals industries, operating at approximately 160 mills in more than 30 countries. Harsco recently added to its mill services leadership with the acquisition of the U.S.-based Industrial Services Division of C. J. Langenfelder & Son, Inc., which provides mill services to U.S. Steel and International Steel Group, two of the major players in the consolidation and re-strengthening of the North American steel industry.
Harsco Corporation is a $2 billion, diversified industrial services and products company employing approximately 17,500 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 Heckett MultiServ division, can be found at www.harsco.com.
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