Claremore Daily Progress

Business

June 8, 2009

Jobs at Air X-Changers not affected by Harsco contract

$2.4 million agreement will benefit employee savings plan

By Joy Hampton

June 9, 2009 — CATOOSA – Local operations at Air X-Changers will not be affected by a $2.4 million contract signed between Harsco Corporation (NYSE: HSC) and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).

Ken Julian, Senior Director for Corporate Communications for Harsco Corporation, said there would be no jobs for the Catoosa facility as a result of the SABIC contract.

Last month, Air X-Changers laid off 185 employees at the Port facility. Air-X-Changers is one of the world’s leading suppliers of air-cooled heat exchangers in the natural gas industry.

Harsco announced the agreement in a press release on Friday. The worldwide industrial services company is the parent of Air X-Changers located in the Tulsa-Port of Catoosa industrial park.

“This is an industrial scaffolding business,” said Julian. “It doesn’t affect the local operation there.”

SABIC was already a “significant Harsco customer” and the contract will be implemented by existing operations in the United Kingdom. Harsco operates in 50 countries around the world in a number of industries, said Julian.

Harsco stock was up by 3-percent at close today, an increase of 93 cents, Julian said, and that increase will benefit Catoosa employees invested in Harsco stock through their 401K employee savings plans.

Julian said he was surprised to see a an AP release of the agreement with a Catoosa dateline.

According to the official Harsco press release, “SABIC is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of chemicals, fertilizers, plastics and metals, and ranks as the largest non-oil company in the Middle East. Harsco’s contract, valued at close to $2.4 million over its duration, calls for the Company to provide a range of scaffolding equipment and erection and dismantling services to SABIC’s Butadiene 3 plant at Wilton on Teesside.”

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