Harsco Enters India Steel Sector with new Multi-Year Contract at Ispat Dolvi
01/29/2010 - Harsco has been awarded a new multi-year contract to provide a range of onsite services for the Ispat Dolvi complex including material handling, metal recovery and slag stockpile services.
Harsco Corp. has been awarded a new multi-year contract valued at more than $65 million over its duration as an onsite services partner to Ispat Dolvi complex, a major integrated facility that produces in excess of 3 million tons of steel per year.
As part of the contract, Harsco will undertake a range of onsite material handling, metal recovery and slag stockpile services at the 1,200-acre Ispat Dolvi complex, which is part of Ispat Industries Limited. The facility is located within Maharashtra, India’s largest industrial state and home to India’s business capital, Mumbai. Work is scheduled to be underway by the start of 2011.
The Ispat Dolvi mill has recently gone through a major modernization of its blast furnace to increase production levels by almost 20%. The Dolvi complex includes its own bulk materials port that opens into the Arabian Sea and a dedicated cargo handling complex capable of handling up to 10 million tonnes of cargo per year.
“Ispat Dolvi is a perfect strategic entry point for Harsco into one of the world’s foremost steelmaking economies,” commented Harsco Metals CEO Galdino Claro, in announcing the contract. “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.
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% increase in steel use this year. Longer-term projections anticipate a quadrupling of India’s total steel production from its current 50 million tonnes to approximately 200 million tonnes by 2020.
India is one of Harsco’s principal targets in the company’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 Corp. is a diversified industrial services company serving global industries 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.