Top representatives of United States Steel Corporation visited Kosice

U. S. Steel Kosice achieved excellent results in 2006. This message was brought to employees of the Kosice´s Works on Friday by the top U. S. Steel Corporation representatives - USS Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John P. Surma, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer John H. Goodish, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Gretchen R. Haggerty, Senior Vice President - Strategic Planning & Business Development John Connelly and Vice President-Labor Relations James D. Garraux.
Following initial presentations and interviews with the factory Top Management, shortly after noon they were first showed around the newly built Cardinal Rules Training Center, accompanied by President USSK Mr. David H. Lohr and other top managers USSK. The center grew up in proximity of former Slabing Operation, HRM Division and next months will welcome the first employees who will acquire deeper theoretical and practical skills in area of OSH. Approx. seventy people will have opportunity to daily education in two theoretical classrooms and the hall equipped with production equipment. As GM Safety USSK Karl G. Kocsis informed the visitors, the training will be preferably intended to employees being in contact with production. Center equipment will allow people to gain certainty and skills during activities associated with lockout and tagout system, elevated work, work in confined premises and in the area of moving mobile equipment as well as load binding, crane boarding and deboarding. Company internal and external employees being experienced in area of education of the adult will perform as lecturers in the Cardinal Rules Training Center.
After the visit, GM Engineering Mr. Michael L. Terry described production details regarding preparation of trial operation of Galvanizing Line No. 3 - major investment projects of USS Corporation in the last year, that will commence automotive sheets production in a few weeks. "It will be an excellent operation," Mr. J. Surma´said later. After the galvanizing line seeing, visitors from Pittsburgh met Vice Presidents, GMs and other USSK employees in the sloped meeting room in AB building, located in USSKE Vstupny Areal. Mr. J. Surma delivered greetings to them from the current USSKE President´s predecessor Mr. Christopher J. Navetta.Then he said that, according to results that are still being finalized, last year may well be called the best year ever for USS Corporation. We will know the answer when the books are closed for 2006.
"Since all the operations succeeded," Mr. Surma pointed out. He appreciated support of Kosice´s managers during development of Serbian operations, contribution of the Slovaks to USS Corporation progress in the Pittsburgh HQ, mainly emphasizing former Vice President USSK Strategic Implementations Mr. Anton Lukac, who was appointed a GM Mon Valley Plant at the beginning of this year and currently has control over various US operations (more info in other document on the 1st page). Questions asked by USSK managers and employees mainly related to globalization in steelmaking industry, investment plans of the Corporation, tasks and prospects of the Service Center in steelmaking industry or energy self-sufficiency of Slovakia. As soon as these question were answered by USSK President and the Pittsburgh guests, Mr. J. Surma once more talked to employees of Kosice´s Works: "I am always pleased to visit Kosice. Thank you for your work, continue to work hard but safely. I see Kosice´s future in a very optimistic light."

U. S. Steel Kosice Annual Ball

Last Saturday, January 13th, was the day of the 7th U. S. Steel Kosice Annual Ball, an opportunity for more than 400 Company employees, their business partners and guests from this country and abroad to get together and look forward already to next year's 8th steelmakers' ball. But why might or should they look forward already? Certainly to the prospect of pleasant company once again, but also to the venue of the Ball, because just like this year's, next year's event will also be taking place in the Steel Arena. For many Kosice people this is an untraditional place for a ball. Equally untraditional, at least for Slovaks, but not so much for the American guests, was the accompanying auction of paintings exhibited in USSK Gallery and of artworks made from metal by the students and teachers from design colleges in Budapest, Kosice, Zvolen annd Krakow participating in the Metal Inspirations workshops. The proceeds from this auction, totaling almost 75 000 Slovak crowns, are to go to the Archdiocesan Charity Crisis Center in Kosice.

Winners are Ondrej and Ela

Illustrations by 12-year-old Ondrej Ivan and 7-year-old Ela Sabolova, together with a further eleven children's drawings, brighten up this year's Safety through Children's Eyes calendar, issued now for the fourth time in succession by the Occupational Safety Department of U. S. Steel Kosice. These two young artists were the winners of the competition to find the best-looking drawing on the theme of occupational safety, and on Monday of this week they were presented with some valuable prizes. The successful children accompanied by their parents were welcomed by Vice-president Human Resources Miroslav Kiralvarga.