Koppers Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: KOP) announced today that it closed on a long-term lease of its Follansbee, W.Va., coal tar distillation facility to ORV Fuels LLC.
Under the agreement, ORV has a period of approximately 24 months to complete the planning and construction required to convert the facility to operate as a light crude oil distillation facility, and has the option to terminate the lease prior to the commencement of construction under certain conditions.
It is anticipated that Koppers will cease its naphthalene refining activities at the Follansbee facility in approximately one year and will continue to utilize the site as a distribution terminal during ORV's lease period. In addition, Koppers will collect an undisclosed amount of rent and royalties over the duration of the agreement.
Koppers President and CEO Leroy Ball said, "The pending conversion of our Follansbee plant to a distribution terminal is the result of our strategy to have one fully integrated chemical processing plant in Stickney, Ill., in order to greatly improve our safety, environmental and operating performance. This agreement with ORV Fuels represents an important first step towards repurposing our distillation assets at Follansbee which will allow us to minimize asset demolition and disposal costs, salvage jobs for the northern West Virginia panhandle and recoup some value over time for our assets."
About Koppers
Koppers, with corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is an integrated global provider of treated wood products, wood treatment chemicals and carbon compounds. Our products and services are used in a variety of niche applications in a diverse range of end-markets, including the railroad, specialty chemical, utility, residential lumber, agriculture, aluminum, steel, rubber, and construction industries. Including our joint ventures, we serve our customers through a comprehensive global manufacturing and distribution network, with facilities located in North America, South America, Australasia, China and Europe. The stock of Koppers Holdings Inc. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "KOP." For more information, visit us on the Web: www.koppers.com. Questions concerning investor relations should be directed to Michael J. Zugay at 412 227 2231 or Quynh McGuire at 412 227 2049.
