HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 1, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) --- Worldwide industrial services and products company Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) today said that its SGB Group division continues to expand its international leadership in scaffolding and access services, having won major roles in several Asian and European industrial projects.
SGB Asia Pacific has been chosen to supply the construction scaffolding for a new Schering-Plough pharmaceutical tablet manufacturing plant in Singapore after receiving a major safety award from the Singapore Ministry of Manpower for its work on another Schering-Plough construction project in which over one million incident-free man hours were recorded. The government's award presentation to SGB named the company as a major contributor to this achievement, saying, "The standard of scaffolding and access on site was a benchmark for the industry."
In Hong Kong, SGB has been at the forefront in introducing modern steel scaffold systems to the Hong Kong construction industry, accelerating a growing trend away from traditional bamboo scaffolds. In the past year, SGB's Sprint(tm) scaffolding has been used on a range of contracts and has found acceptance with nearly all the area's major contractors. "Sprint is helping to open up the acceptance of steel scaffold systems and we believe there is a very large potential market available that is still only in its infancy," said Cher Wong, Marketing Manager of SGB Hong Kong. To date, the tallest scaffold erected in Hong Kong with the Sprint system is approximately 300 feet high, built to the rear elevation of the Excelsior Hotel for refurbishment and painting work. SGB has also been invited by the Hong Kong government to serve as a guest trainer for the Hong Kong Occupational Safety & Health Council, the only company selected for this honor.
SGB Holland is participating in the re-fit of one of the world's most powerful crane ships, a 500-foot-long deepwater pipelaying vessel known as the SCV Balder, owned by Heerema Marine Contractors. The ship is being extensively upgraded with new cableways, ventilation channels and other features, requiring the installation of scaffolds throughout the entire structure.
SGB France has recently completed a prestigious contract to engineer a variety of concrete formwork solutions for the construction of a major new electronics factory at Croiles, on the outskirts of Grenoble in Eastern France. The new factory, known as ST Electronique, will be a center for microchip production by global electronics manufacturer Thomson-CSF. The factory's construction requirements included stringent anti-seismic standards to provide a vibration-free production environment, requiring specially engineered formwork for the building's heavy-duty concrete beams and structures. Paul Castellani, Managing Director of SGB France, said, "The successful completion of this project was a big feather in SGB's cap. It was the biggest industrial construction contract awarded in this sector for 2001, and the expertise demonstrated by the SGB team has led to further contracts in the immediate area for the construction of smaller industrial buildings to accommodate Thomson-CSF's sub-contractors."
Harsco's international SGB Group division and its Americas-based Patent Construction Systems division comprise one of the world's foremost providers of scaffolding, concrete forming and shoring services and equipment, serving the non-residential construction and industrial maintenance markets with a comprehensive range of engineering services, rental equipment and on-site erection and dismantling support. SGB and Patent Construction Systems serve markets worldwide from more than 200 distribution and service locations throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Harsco Corporation is a $2.1 billion diversified provider of market-leading industrial services and products for the worldwide infrastructure development, steel and metals, railway transportation, and gas and energy industries. The company employs approximately 19,000 people in 40 countries of operation. Additional information about Harsco can be found at www.harsco.com.