HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 1, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Worldwide industrial services and products company Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) announced today it has opened a representative office in Beijing to oversee the development of Harsco's future business growth in China.
"Setting up this centralized modest office in Beijing indicates Harsco's commitment to doing business in China and formalizes that part of our international growth strategy," said Harsco Chairman and CEO Derek C. Hathaway.
The new Harsco Representative Office is located within the Central Business District in Fortune Plaza, Beijing's largest commercial building complex. The office is headed by Mr. Dejun Shan, an executive with more than six years of experience representing Harsco's interests in China.
Harsco's presence in China spans a number of the company's business units. Harsco's MultiServ mill services division has been providing on-site, outsourced services to the Chinese steel industry for more than 15 years. The division currently serves two large Chinese steelworks, Tangshan and Hangzhou, where it provides a range of on-site material handling and other basic mill services under long-term, multi-year contracts. Harsco announced at its recent Annual Analysts Conference that it is pursuing several opportunities for additional project growth in China with other leading steel producers.
Another Harsco business, Taylor-Wharton, has become one of China's leading producers of high quality containment vessels for industrial gases. Taylor-Wharton was one of the first foreign-invested enterprises in China to be licensed for all phases of cryogenic tank production for the Chinese market. Harsco recently announced the construction of a new manufacturing plant for Taylor-Wharton's cryogenic gas tanks in Hebei Province that will provide a nearly 50 percent expansion over the previous Beijing facility. The new plant is being built in conjunction with Harsco's minority joint venture partner for Chinese gas tank production, the multi-industry Jialong Group.
China is also the largest international customer for Harsco's railway track maintenance equipment and services division, Harsco Track Technologies (HTT). Harsco looks for continuing opportunities to add to its support of China's national railway expansion and modernization and its growing metropolitan transit system network.
Harsco Corporation is a diversified, worldwide industrial services and engineered products company with more than 21,000 employees and 2005 sales of nearly $2.8 billion. Harsco is listed among the Fortune 1000 group of the largest companies in America and was recently named for the fourth time by Forbes Magazine to its Platinum 400 list of the best big companies in America. Harsco's four market-leading business groups provide mill services, access services, engineered products and services, and gas containment and control technologies to major customers worldwide. Additional information can be found at www.harsco.com.
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