Harsco Signs 25-Year Environmental Solutions Contract With China's TISCO; Marks Largest Contract in Harsco History
July 28 2011 - 7:25AM
Worldwide industrial solutions company Harsco Corporation
(NYSE:HSC) announced today the largest contract in its history with
the awarding of a 25-year environmental solutions contract for
onsite metal recovery in China to Harsco's previously–announced
joint venture company with Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Group) Co.,
Ltd. (TISCO), one of the world's largest steel producers. The metal
recovery portion of the contract is estimated in excess of $500
million over its 25-year period and will also pave the way for the
joint venture company to commercialize slag co-products in China
for a range of projected agricultural and industrial uses.
"The culmination of this important relationship establishes a
major new platform for our continuing global advancement as a
knowledge-based environmental solutions company," said Salvatore D.
Fazzolari, Harsco Chairman, President and CEO. "We are honored
to join with TISCO as long-term partners to such a far-reaching and
environmentally beneficial enterprise."
The joint venture is expected to commence operations in the
first half of 2012. As previously announced, the partnership
has the potential to generate new revenues of an estimated $30
million in its first full year of operation (2013), ramping up to a
projected run rate of approximately $50 million to $60 million per
year when fully operational (2015). Harsco anticipates that
the metal recovery operations will begin in 2012, and market
development for the agricultural fertilizer and other commercial
by-products will proceed in parallel, with an estimated start date
of 2014.
Harsco will apply its proprietary separation technologies to
extract high-value metallic content from TISCO's slag for
production re-use. Patterned after similar Harsco facilities
in other parts of the world, Harsco's separation processes have a
proven track record of recovering more than 99.8% of all metallics
from stainless steel slag and also yield a calcium silicate-rich
co-product that has shown significant benefits to agricultural
productivity in major turf and crop-producing regions of the
world.
This latter point is of particular importance in China, where
approximately 300 million acres are currently in agricultural
production for a wide range of food and fiber
crops. Researchers estimate that some 50 million acres,
however, are deficient in silicon and/or contain acidic soil
conditions, reflecting years of over-use and the effects of acid
rain in China's coal mining regions. In trials already
conducted in China for the partnership, Harsco's soluble silicon
fertilizer has been shown to produce a 40% yield improvement in
rice and other agricultural crops. Other anticipated markets
for the slag include use as an ingredient in cement and for road
base construction.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements based on
management's current expectations, estimates and
projections. All statements that address expectations or
projections about the future, including statements about the
company's strategy for growth, product development, market
position, expected revenues and expenditures and financial results
are forward-looking statements. Some of the forward-looking
statements may be identified by words like "may," "could,"
"believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "intends,"
"projects," "indicates," and similar expressions. These
statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a
number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors,
including those discussed more fully elsewhere in this release and
in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by
Harsco, particularly its latest annual report on Form 10-K and
quarterly report on Form 10-Q, as well as others, could cause
results to differ materially from those stated. These factors
include, but are not limited to, changes in the worldwide business
environment in which the Company operates, including general
economic conditions; changes in currency exchange rates, interest
rates, commodity and fuel costs and capital costs; changes in the
performance of the equity and debt markets that could affect, among
other things, the valuation of the assets in the Company's pension
plans and the accounting for pension assets, liabilities and
expenses; changes in governmental laws and regulations, including
environmental, tax and import tariff standards; market and
competitive changes, including pricing pressures, market demand and
acceptance for new products, services, and technologies; unforeseen
business disruptions in one or more of the many countries in which
the Company operates due to political instability, civil
disobedience, armed hostilities, public health issues or other
calamities; the seasonal nature of the Company's business; our
ability to successfully enter into new contracts and complete new
acquisitions or joint ventures in the timeframe contemplated or at
all; the ongoing global financial and credit crisis, which could
result in our customers curtailing development projects,
construction, production and capital expenditures, which, in turn,
could reduce the demand for our products and services and,
accordingly, our sales, margins and profitability; the financial
condition of the Company's customers, including the ability of
customers (especially those that may be highly leveraged and those
with inadequate liquidity) to maintain their credit availability;
the successful integration of the Company's strategic acquisitions;
the amount and timing of repurchases of the Company's common stock,
if any; our ability to successfully implement cost-reduction
initiatives, including the achievement of expected cost savings in
the expected timeframe; the ability of the Company to enter into
the definitive agreements necessary to commence operations under
the joint venture described in this announcement; the Company's
ability to obtain approval of the joint venture from the Chinese
government; and other risk factors listed from time to time in the
Company's SEC reports. The Company undertakes no duty to
update forward-looking statements.
About Harsco
Harsco Corporation is a global solutions company serving major
industries that are fundamental to worldwide infrastructure
development and economic growth. 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
CONTACT: Investor Contact
Eugene M. Truett
717.975.5677
etruett@harsco.com
Media Contact
Kenneth D. Julian
717.730.3683
kjulian@harsco.com
Harsco (NYSE:HSC)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2024 to Jun 2024
Harsco (NYSE:HSC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2023 to Jun 2024