Harsco Opens China Office

Harsco Corp. announced that it has opened a representative office in Beijing to oversee the development of Harsco's future business growth in China.

“Setting up this centralized modest office in Beijing indicates Harsco's commitment to doing business in China and formalizes that part of our international growth strategy,'' said Derek Hathaway, Harsco chairman and CEO.

The new office is located within the Central Business District in Fortune Plaza, Beijing's largest commercial building complex. The office is headed by Dejun Shan, who has more than six years of experience representing Harsco's interests in China.

Harsco's presence in China spans a number of the company's business units. Harsco's MultiServ mill services division has been providing on-site, outsourced services to the Chinese steel industry for more than 15 years. The division currently serves two large Chinese steelworks, Tangshan and Hangzhou, where it provides a range of on-site material handling and other basic mill services under long-term, multi-year contracts. Harsco announced at its recent Annual Analysts Conference that it is pursuing several opportunities for additional project growth in China with other leading steel producers.

Another Harsco business, Taylor-Wharton, produces containment vessels for industrial gases. Taylor-Wharton was one of the first foreign-invested enterprises in China to be licensed for all phases of cryogenic tank production for the Chinese market.

Harsco recently announced the construction of a new manufacturing plant for Taylor-Wharton's cryogenic gas tanks in Hebei Province that will expand its operations by close to 50 percent over the previous Beijing facility. The new plant is being built in conjunction with Harsco's minority joint venture partner for Chinese gas tank production, the multi-industry Jialong Group.

China is also the largest international customer for Harsco's railway track maintenance equipment and services division, Harsco Track Technologies. Harsco looks for continuing opportunities to add to its support of China's national railway expansion and modernization and its growing metropolitan transit system network.