HARRISBURG, Pa., May 8, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Worldwide industrial services and products company Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) announced today that its U.K.-based SGB Group division has been selected as one of two preferred suppliers to provide access installations and services for the repainting of one of Britain's most recognized industrial landmarks, the massive Forth Rail Bridge in Scotland.
SGB's contract, awarded by the Civil Engineering Division of Balfour Beatty Construction Ltd. as main contractors on behalf of Railtrack PLC, is estimated to be worth more than $2 million this year, and could reach more than $40 million over the entire seven-year project.
Opened in 1890, the historic Forth Rail Bridge is the oldest cantilever bridge in the world and the second longest of its kind, spanning a distance of approximately 11/2 miles across the Firth of Forth inlet on the east coast of Scotland. With its three cantilever towers each 340 feet high, the bridge carries the main rail line north from Edinburgh to Dundee and Aberdeen. Up to 200 trains cross the bridge daily.
Among the advanced access solutions to be provided by SGB is a lightweight suspended protection deck which will enable work to proceed above the track without disrupting busy traffic schedules. "Providing safe access for all parties on a complex structure of this kind presents a unique mix of environmental, structural and logistical challenges," said Peter Maggs, Managing Director of SGB's Contracts Division. "With our breadth of experience in both traditional scaffolding and mechanical access and hoisting systems, we are able to deliver efficiencies beyond those previously possible, using a combination of access solutions."
Harsco's international SGB Group division and its Americas-based Patent Construction Systems division comprise one of the world's largest organizations for scaffolding and related access services. The divisions operate worldwide from locations throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and reported combined revenues of approximately $600 million last year.
Harsco Corporation is a $2.1 billion diversified industrial services and products company with market-leading positions serving the worldwide infrastructure development, steel and metals, railway transportation, and gas and energy industries. The company employs approximately 18,700 people in 40 countries of operation. Additional information about Harsco, including its SGB Group division, can be found at www.harsco.com.
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