Fluor, New Partner to Seek Weapons-Disposal Projects : Agreement: Company will team with Hercules Aerospace to destroy obsolete explosives, chemical and conventional munitions, rocket motors.
Engineering and construction giant Fluor Corp. on Monday announced a partnership with Hercules Aerospace Co. in Utah to pursue the multibillion-dollar market for disposal of obsolete or defective non-nuclear weapons.
The companies will offer their services to both government clients and private defense contractors. Financial terms of the non-exclusive agreement will be determined on a project-by-project basis.
“The world’s rapidly changing geopolitical structure is creating unique challenges and opportunities in the engineering and construction industry,” Les McCraw, Fluor’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a press release.
The aerospace and defense division of Fluor Daniel Inc., Fluor’s core subsidiary, and Hercules Aerospace will dismantle and destroy explosives, chemical and conventional munitions and rocket motors.
“In keeping with the concerns we have today for the environment, we will use state-of-the-art technology to safely incinerate or otherwise destroy these weapons,” said Dan Lancaster, general manager of aerospace and defense for Fluor Daniel in Irvine.
“The agreement (with Hercules) allows us to jointly or separately pursue opportunities,” Lancaster said. He added that the companies have some “near-term projects” under negotiation.
Hercules Aerospace is a subsidiary of Hercules Inc., a chemical and plastics company based in Wilmington, Del.
In recent years, Fluor has joined other engineering firms in seeking lucrative contracts for cleaning up environmental hazards, such as toxic waste sites. Last year, the company secured more than $1 billion in contracts for its environmental services.
Fluor also announced a $600-million contract to provide engineering and construction management in the environmental upgrade of a copper smelting plant near Salt Lake City. Davy McKee Corp. of San Francisco will build the new facility, which is expected to be completed in 1995.
