Harsco Corporation announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Northern Hemisphere steel mill services operations of Brambles Industrial Services BIS a unit of Australia based Brambles Industries Limited. The Company paid approximately $229 million plus a working capital adjustment for the business, and is proceeding with the appropriate regulatory filings. The acquisition, made on cash free & debt free basis, is expected to be accretive to Harsco's 2006 earnings.

Operating under long term contracts at some 19 locations in the UK, France, Holland and the US, the operations add to the global breadth and scope of Harsco's Mill Services segment, expanding its provision of on site, outsourced mill services to the steel and metals industries to approximately 180 sites in 32 countries. The operations provide a complementary range of mill services that includes metal recovery, slag processing, and material handling, and specialty operations that include the briquetting of waste materials for recycling into the steelmaking process.

Announcing the acquisition, Harsco Chairman, President and CEO Mr Derek C. Hathaway said, "The addition of these high-quality operations represents an excellent strategic fit which further strengthens our partnerships with the leading producers in the global steel industry and increases our opportunities for long-term service growth.”Coupled with our Hunnebeck Group acquisition last month, expanding our Access Services segment, we continue to execute on our strategic objectives for strengthening Harsco's global industrial services base and providing increasing value for our stockholders."

Harsco's Mill Services segment provides the world's leading steelmakers with a comprehensive range of services that support the entire steelmaking process, including integrated materials handling, semi-finished and finished product management, and metal recovery and byproduct recycling. Similar services are provided to the makers of aluminum, copper and other metals.