Harsco opens first new SteelPhalt asphalt plants in 60 years

Camp Hill-based Harsco Corporation, an environmental solutions company, announced Monday it opened two new “SteelPhalt” asphalt plants in Wales and England.

The company opened a new plant in Cardiff, Wales, and added an additional plant to its existing Rotherham, England facility. The plants will manufacture sustainable asphalt products using 95-percent recycled aggregates, using a process with a 40-percent lower carbon footprint than processes that use natural aggregate.

“We are able to provide an innovative approach to quality management of slag by transforming it into a high-quality material that can be used in asphalt products,” said Martin Gray, managing director of SteelPhalt. “Using our technical and operational expertise, we have designed products to harness the unique properties of slag to provide asphalt products that are not only reducing the need for quarried aggregate but also providing a more durable and safer road surface.”

The Wales facility is situated to use slag from the surrounding area efficiently, the company said, and is designed to produce up to 300,000 tons of sustainable asphalt products per year for South Wales and Southwest England. It is the first permanent asphalt plant in Cardiff in over 70 years.

The plant in England will be located on the same site as SteelPhat’s existing plant. The Rotherham plant is the busiest independent asphalt plant in the United Kingdom. The company said that the new plant will allow the company to increase service and product offerings as demand for sustainable asphalt products increases.

“Opening these additional plants offers Harsco another resource for the handling of slag from our steel mill customers while also responding to the ever-increasing demand to be more sustainable and mindful of our impact in everything we do,” Gray said. “SteelPhalt offers a solution that is beneficial for our steel mill customers, asphalt customers, and the environment.”