Harsco’s Excell Minerals Division Awarded New Contracts in Europe
11/21/2007 - Harsco’s newest operating division, Excell Minerals, receives contracts with ArcelorMittal's Imphy Alloys specialty steel works in France, and with BGH Freital’s specialty steel works in Germany.
Harsco Corp.’s newest operating division, Excell Minerals, will expand its international footprint in Europe with the receipt of two contracts in France and Germany totaling more than $20 million in projected new revenues.
ArcelorMittal's Imphy Alloys awarded Excell a five-year contract for Imphy Alloys’ specialty steel works in France, which specializes in developing and producing a wide range of high-performance steel products. Excell will recover high-value metallic content from the mill's slag, both from an existing stockpile and from the mill's ongoing production.
With its proprietary metal-recovery processes, Excell is capable of extracting virtually 100% of the high-value metallic content from specialty steel slag. The Imphy works has committed to purchasing all of the extracted metal for re-use in new production, and Excell will also develop and market the processed aggregate materials throughout the region. The processed aggregates posses an interlocking structural form and chemical properties that make them an excellent source material for such applications as skid-resistant asphalt paving and high endurance railroad ballast, and as a soil-enhancing additive
In addition to the metal-recovery responsibilities at the Imphy Alloys works, Excell's contract calls for a broader range of ongoing mill services that will be assigned to Harsco's MultiServ division, continuing MultiServ's more than 15-year relationship at this location.
"This award underscores our strategies and opportunities for extending Excell's reach into the broader international arena, and further demonstrates the excellent partnering opportunities that are now possible between our Excell and MultiServ divisions for joint collaboration in support of customers," said Salvatore D. Fazzolari, Harsco President and Chief Financial Officer, and CEO-designee effective January 1, 2008.
In Germany, Excell will continue exploratory development work with BGH Freital, a specialty steel works in Germany where Excell has been perfecting techniques for processing the mill's specialty alloy steel slags. The plant produces almost 200 different kinds of steel with a total production in excess of 175,000 tonnes per year. The new contract calls for Excell to implement additional steps to further recover the fine-scale metallic content from the mill's slags, while also continuing its research into regional markets for the aggregate material. The contract enables Excell to further develop its capabilities for extending services to small specialty steel producers who are seeking commercially viable and environmentally sound solutions for their steelmaking slags.
Excell Minerals division, part of Harsco's Minerals & Rail Services and Products business group, is an industry leader in extracting high-value metal content from specialty steelmaking slags, and also produces a range of environmentally-beneficial mineral-based products for commercial markets. Harsco acquired Excell Minerals in February 2007 and its performance has been accretive to Harsco's earnings since that date. The division had 2006 sales of just over $100 million.
Harsco provides a range of market-leading services to major global industries that include non-residential construction and infrastructure, steel and metals, and railway transportation. The company posted 2006 revenues of $3.4 billion and employs approximately 21,500 people worldwide.
