HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 21, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Worldwide industrial services and products company Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) announced today it has acquired the conveyor services and trading arm of Technic Gum, a privately-held firm that is Belgium's leading provider of conveyor belt maintenance services for the steel and cement-producing industries. Terms of the cash acquisition were not disclosed. Technic Gum's manufacturing arm, which produces consumables such as screen grids and other parts for conveyor maintenance, is not included in the transaction.
The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Harsco's 2007 earnings and adds to the Company's growing capabilities for providing conveyor belt management and maintenance services to steel mills and other industrial clients. A typical integrated steelworks may have as many as 40 to 50 miles of conveyor belts on its premises. Last year, Harsco acquired Evulca, a similar conveyor belt specialist with principal operations in France and clients that include Arcelor Mittal's Sollac Fos steel works in southern France. The addition of Technic Gum's services and trading arm includes ongoing service contracts at all three of Belgium's integrated steel works, as well as services to such major industrial customers as HeidelbergCement, one of the world's largest cement producers; Holcim, Belgium's leading cement producer; and Lhoist, the world's leading producer of lime and dolomite. Technic Gum recorded service and trading-related revenues of approximately $8 million in 2005 and employs approximately 50 people.
Harsco Corporation is a diversified, worldwide industrial services and products company with four market-leading business groups that provide mill services, access services, engineered products and services, and gas containment and control technologies to customers around the globe. The Company employs approximately 21,000 people in 45 countries of operation and recorded 2005 sales of $2.8 billion. Harsco's common stock is a component of the S&P MidCap 400 Index and the Russell 1000 Index. Additional information about Harsco can be found at www.harsco.com.
The Harsco Corporation logo is available at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=361