$250-Million Expansion Project Goes to Fluor Unit

A Fluor Corp. unit said Wednesday that it has won a contract valued at more than $250 million to expand an aluminum-sheet factory in Kentucky and also has entered into a venture to clean up two sites owned by a Connecticut chemical company.

The giant Irvine-based construction and engineering firm said that Fluor Daniel will provide engineering, procurement and construction services to increase capacity of a Logan Aluminum Inc. plant in Russellville, Ky.

Fluor built the existing plant--located 75 miles north of Nashville, Tenn., in the early 1980s. Alcan Aluminum, one of Logan’s owners, agreed then to let Fluor build any plant expansions. The plant will add 250,000 square feet for an aluminum rolling mill and finishing equipment.

In a separate transaction, Fluor Daniel said that its environmental services division would provide assistance to Olin Corp. for the cleanup of chemical plant sites in Virginia and Ohio. The value of the projects was not revealed, but the company said it expects the jobs to lead to more work.

While Fluor has done environmental cleanups for years, the type of broad agreement it struck with Olin is a first for the company, officials said. Usually it gets cleanup work on a job-by-job basis.

But as more buildings and land are found to be contaminated with toxic substances, the environmental cleanup business is expected to grow fast. And Fluor wants to grab a larger chunk of it.

“This is an area Fluor is pursuing with some vigor,” said John N. Simon, a stock analyst who follows the company for Seidler Amdec Securities Inc. in Los Angeles.

Fluor, which is having a good year despite the softening economy, had revenue of $7.45 billion last year and earnings of $147 million.