SNAS accredits another specialist team
In April of this year the Slovak National Accreditation Service granted a certificate of accreditation to the Monitoring and Balances Section of the unit of GM Environment at U. S. Steel Kosice. Section head Peter Varga told Ocel Vychodu that his team is authorized to carry out chemical and physical-chemical testing as well as sampling of waste, surface and ground water. He explained that the aim of this project was to ensure high quality of analyses, operational fulfillment of legislative requirements in the area of water protection, and of course also costs-saving. The process of accreditation of the section began with the progressive renovation and re-equipping of its premises, processing of documentation, specialist training of its staff, and the implementation itself of the quality management system in line with the standard STN EN ISO/IEC 17025:25. The accredited testing and sampling methods fulfill the legislative requirements for determining the quality of water as derived from the decisions of the state authories.
Subsidiary Refrako is doing well in Ukraine
Success in the currently tough competitive conditions for producers of refractory materials for the metallurgical industry is not easy to come by. Customers demand high quality and perfect technical services ... and whoever offers these, wins. USSK subsidiary Refrako is succeeding in its business both at home and abroad particularly with these stratagems. This is confirmed for example by the especially important contract for the supply of high-alumina and light firebrick building materials to a Ukrainian customer which was signed by the contracting parties at the end of last month. Refrako's General Manager Gabriel Torhany told Ocel Vychodu that his company has been working for nine years now with the pellet-producing firm SevGog at Krivoj Rog, mainly on routine and general overhauls of their furnaces, and without a single claim against them. He believes this weighed heavily in favor of his company's tender for the contract to supply refractory materials for the next general overhaul of the furnaces, with which they successfully beat four of their competitors.
Awards for the most noble of actions
On Monday, June 16th, which was World Blood-donors' Day, the Slovakian Red Cross in Kosice presented awards for the most noble of human actions. The Prof. Dr. J. Knazovicky medal for a hundred donations of blood were presented to two employees of U. S. Steel Kosice, Andrej Friedrich and Miroslav Janda. For 80 blood donations, Dr. Jansky Diamond Plaques were presented to five of our colleagues, Jan Budinsky, Pavol Gavala, Milan Grof, Rudolf Pramuk and Frantisek Vavrek. Gold plaques for 30 donations also went to USSK employees Milena Kosalova, Izabela Pristasova and Marcela Zakova.
Steelers Cup bagged by Czech player Rosol
Fifty-five points in the ATP rankings and 4500 euro in the bank for victory in the 6th edition of the annual tennis tournament called ATP Challenger Series Kosice Open Steelers Cup, for which U. S. Steel Kosice is the general sponsor - those were the prizes last Saturday, June 14th, for 23-year-old, 195 cm tall Czech tennis-player Lukas Rosol. In the final match of this interesting tournament, affected by rain towards the end of its run, the Spaniard Miguel Angel Lopez Jean was beaten by Rosol in two sets 7:5 and 6:1. The prize was presented to the winner by USS Senior Vice-president European Operations and U. S. Steel Kosice President George F. Babcoke.
