HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 28, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Worldwide industrial services company Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) announced today that it has been awarded a new multi-year contract valued at more than $65 million over its duration as an onsite services partner to India’s giant steelmaking sector.
Harsco will undertake a range of onsite material handling, metal recovery and slag stockpile services at the 1,200-acre Ispat Dolvi complex, a major integrated facility within Maharashtra, India’s largest industrial state and home to India’s business capital, Mumbai. The plant produces in excess of 3 million tons of steel per year and is part of Ispat Industries Limited, a large private sector producer of hot rolled coils in India. Work is scheduled to be underway by the start of 2011.
Harsco’s strategic entry into India comes at a time of rapidly escalating growth in the Indian steel sector, where the World Steel Association forecasts a 12.1 percent increase in steel use this year. Longer-term projections anticipate a quadrupling of India’s total steel production from its current 50 million tons to approximately 200 million tons by 2020. The Ispat Dolvi mill itself has recently gone through a major modernization of its blast furnace to increase production levels by almost 20 percent. The Dolvi complex is well-situated for growth, encompassing its own bulk materials port which opens into the Arabian Sea and a dedicated cargo handling complex capable of handling up to 10 million tons of cargo per year.
Announcing the contract, Harsco Metals CEO Galdino Claro said, “Ispat Dolvi is a perfect strategic entry point for Harsco into one of the world’s foremost steelmaking economies. Our partner Ispat Industries is a solid industrial organization with a proven commitment to growth and innovation. We look forward to a long and mutually successful relationship that will serve as a model for Harsco’s further expansion in this market.” Claro, who joined Harsco in June of 2009, holds Group CEO responsibilities for Harsco Metals and Harsco Minerals and is leading the further global expansion and strengthening of these businesses.
India is one of the principal targets of Harsco’s strategies for achieving sustained growth in the world’s emerging market economies. The Company recently opened a new India-based services center for engineering and IT support in Hyderabad and has been working successfully with another leading India steel producer, Mumbai-based Tata Group, in the Harsco Infrastructure arena.
Harsco Corporation is a diversified industrial services company serving global industries that are fundamental to worldwide economic growth, including infrastructure, metals, railways and energy. Harsco is recognized as one of the Fortune 1000 leading companies in America and has been named five times to the Platinum 400 list of the best big companies by Forbes magazine. Harsco's common stock is a component of the S&P Mid Cap 400 Index and the Russell 1000 Index. Additional information can be found at http://www.harsco.com/">www.harsco.com.
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