China/Brazil: Harsco Corporation has signed two multi-year contracts for steel mill services in China and Brazil at a value of over US$100m.

Harsco’s Metals & Minerals division has been selected by Hebei Iron and Steel Group to take over an increased range of onsite mill services at its Tangshan Stainless Steel works, where Harsco already provides environmental services relating to the commercial sale of the mill’s slag co-products. With the new contract, Harsco now adds onsite slag handling, metal recovery and briquetting to its responsibilities. Tangshan Stainless produces premium-grade steels for automotive and consumer markets. The deal will include the use of Harsco’s steam box technology for steel slag processing.

In Brazil, Harsco has been selected by one of the country’s largest fully integrated steelmakers to extend Harsco’s services for onsite scrap handling, slag transport, metal recovery and melt shop support. Harsco has been providing support to the mill’s flat steel operations for more than three decades, and to its mini-mill since its inception in 2014.

“These contracts reflect our renewed ambitions to grow the Metals & Minerals business following two years of successful transformation. Our relationships in both contracts demonstrate our capacity to provide long-term value to customer operations in parallel with lasting benefit to the environment,” said Harsco president and chief executive officer Nicholas Grasberger.

UK: David Ball, founder of the Cambridge-based David Ball Group, has announced he is standing down from the board and operational activities. Ball, who has been chairman of the company for 46 years, said that he will now focus on ‘other interests.’ Ball’s daughter, Victoria Ball will join the board as a non-executive director.

“My business interests have always been driven by the needs of the market and pressing global issues: sustainability, a major concern of our time, drove me to co-invent Cemfree. I will continue to pursue my interests, both in the construction arena and in the area of ethical business practice, which has long been a passion. I am confident that the business will continue to grow and prosper in this exciting new phase,” said Ball.

Ball founded the company in 1970, focusing on special sands and cements. David Ball Group developed Pudlo into a concrete waterproofing systems and invented Cemfree, a low carbon concrete made using ground blast furnace slag (GGBS).

US: Drew G Burns has been appointed as Marketing Coordinator for the Slag Cement Association. He will work to expand the market for slag cement through marketing communications. Burns holds over seven years’ experience in both for-profit and non-profit organisations in variety of marketing functions. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Resources with an emphasis in Commercial Recreation and Business from Michigan State University.

UK: Francis Flower’s logistics partner, Turners, has added 18 new vehicles to its fleet to help support the production of ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) at its Scunthorpe grinding plant. The new vehicles will carry out a variety of tasks, including tramping and day deliveries from Scunthorpe. The DAF vehicles, a mix of eight XF 440 FTP and 10CF 440 FTP models with light mid-lift axles and all fitted with Space Cabs, will be coupled with 18 new, specialised Feldbinder bulk powder tankers on the GGBS work across the UK.