The transaction does not include the sale of Koppers wood treating facility located in Florence, South Carolina (Florence) which was the primary production facility for this business. The Florence facility, which also treats railroad crossties and other railroad products, will remain with Koppers and will continue to provide products and services for the company's railroad customers.
Tom Loadman, vice president of Railroad and Utility Products and Services, said, "After conducting a strategic review, we determined that a divestiture of our U.S. utility business was the best long-term alternative for Koppers. The focus of our U.S. Railroad and Utility Products and Services business over the past several years has been on growing our presence in the railroad maintenance-of-way market. This is evidenced by our acquisitions of the Portec rail joint business, the Ashcroft tie-treating business, and the Osmose Railroad Structures business. The continued allocation of shared resources to the U.S. utility business would not advance our current business strategy."
Koppers, with corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is an integrated global producer of carbon compounds, chemicals, and treated wood products and services for the aluminum, railroad, specialty chemical, utility, rubber, concrete, steel, residential lumber, and agriculture industries.
