Background

For steel mill customers, there is often a long lead time between signing a contract and implementing a fixed plant on site. The lengthy process includes designing the plant, conducting ground tests for foundation design, excavation and pouring, fabricating steelwork, ordering and installing equipment and commissioning the project. While all these pieces are moving, customers are sometimes keen to get their projects started before the fixed material requirements planning (MRPs) are up and running.

These fixed MRPs generally require a large amount of civil work with little or no return on capital and can create issues if the site needs to be relocated at the end of the contract term, as the materials would need to be left in the ground. Further, Harsco can’t invoice for metal recovery until the plant is operational, creating a delay in revenue generation.

As such, fixed MRPs are not appropriate or economical for all locations, particularly those with limited quantities of slag or small dumps that rely on materials being transported to the site.

Related Resources