Hargreaves Foundry, which is one of the oldest traditional cast-iron manufacturers, secured a contract to supply 96 tons of internal cast iron rainwater and drainage systems for the Federation Tower in Moscow.

The £305 million 87-storey curved building is 340 metres high, dwarfing Europe's other skyscrapers.

Its tall stature, which, including the spire, measures 448 metres, overshadows both Frank-furt's 260-metre Commerzbank Tower and the 330-metre Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Construction work on the tower is in two phases – the first phase is complete and the second is due for completion around 2010.

Sergei Glukharev, director of Halifax Russia Limited, said: "The Halifax system was chosen for its quality, versatility and speed of installation.

"It has the major benefit of allowing pipeline installation to begin from any point and in any direction within a building and this provides major value with a building of this size and the single-coupling system reduces the risk of mistakes during installation.

"One of the major benefits of using a cast iron system such as this is the low fire risk.

"By Russian law, any building higher than 75 metres must install a cast iron drainage system."

The Halifax system also offers noise reduction, which is vital as the sewerage has to be channelled from the eighty-seventh floor to below-basement level.

Russian installer the Armo Group is fitting the socketless soil and drainage systems, which feature a unique time-saving single steel coupling.

Mirax Group, developer of Federation Tower, said the complex was designed to be protected against a 9/11 style terrorist attack and withstand fire for 10 hours.

This latest contract confirms Hargreaves' foothold in the Russian market after also supplying the cast iron drainage for the renovation of the Bolshoi Theatre.

Hargreaves is based at Carr House, Water Lane.