New U. S. Steel Kosice President David J. Rintoul meets Company managers and journalists

This Monday, January 17th, the new President of U. S. Steel Kosice, Mr. David J. Rintoul, undertook his first official meeting with USSK management on Company premises. Also present at this meeting were U. S. Steel Corporation top executives John P. Surma, George F. Babcoke, David H. Lohr and Anton Lukac. The new President was introduced by USS Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Surma, who went on also to inform the audience about the current situation on the steel market, and the Corporation's strategic goals in 2011, especially in the field of capital investments. From the Kosice team, he said, he expects safe, efficient and stable operations.
The same afternoon, John P. Surma, George F. Babcoke and David J. Rintoul faced journalists at a press conference. John Surma informed them about the changes in the posts of USS Vice President European Operations and USSK President. He went on to thank George Babcoke for the work he has put in, and expressed his conviction that his successor, the experienced manager and qualified specialist David J. Rintoul, will maintain the excellent work of the Kosice steelworks.
George Babcoke described his almost three years of work in Kosice as a tremendous opportunity. Together with the Company he survived the period of world-wide financial and economic crisis, which he claims the Company came out of stronger and more experienced. He highlighted the fact that 2010 was the safest year in the existence so far of U. S. Steel Europe. The Kosice and Serbian operations had the lowest number of injuries, and environmental quality was markedly improved. He was also appreciative of his relations with his colleagues - managers, trade union leaders, employees, and representatives of the city and the region, who he said had been very easy for him to work with, and who would be very hard for him to forget.
David J. Rintoul in turn described his appointment as Vice President European Operations and U. S. Steel Kosice President as an honor. He said he intended to continue achieving outstanding results with the Company in the fields of safety, environment and other aspects of business, and that he was looking forward to working together with the local community. He also wants to continue with activities of his predecessor, and to go on adding to them.

U. S. Steel Kosice fulfills European regulations on chemical substances and mixtures

As part of the Company's obligations set by the REACH regulations, by the end of November last year U. S. Steel Kosice had successfully registered 14 chemical substances either produced at the steelworks or imported to Kosice from countries outside the EU. These are tar, benzol, sulfur, calcium hydroxide, iron, steelmaking slag, converter slag, blast-furnace slag, iron oxide, slag-cinder mixture, iron-ore pellets, sinter, and steelmaking sludge and dust. Just for comparison, 42 companies in Slovakia have so far registered a total of 148 substances. There is only one substance which the Company has already pre-registered and still needs to register in full, and that is acetylene, the final date for which comes up in 2013. U. S. Steel Kosice is currently verifying the registrations of its suppliers.

Steelmakers' Annual Ball

This year's U. S. Steel Kosice Annual Ball, which was held last Saturday, January 15th, with more than 350 invited guests, once again had a charitable dimension. The ball-goers could take part in an auction of paintings by talented amateur artists from the ranks of the Company employees working together with professional painters during last year's plein-air session in Medzev, and metal artefacts created by young designers during the Metal Inspirations international workshop. Altogether 29 artworks were sold in the auction, with winning bids reaching a total value of 3 931 euros. The Ball organizers are donating this money to the Union of Mutual Assistance of People and Dogs.

Gifts for children

On Wednesday of last week, January 12th, just a few days before her return to the United States, Kathie Babcoke, wife of the outgoing President of U. S. Steel Kosice, made her way to Prof. Theodore Hellbrügge's Children's Center on Obrancov Mieru Street in Kosice. Together with Barbara Kollar, Mel Simko and Kim Cramer, she went to present the little patients with gifts from the ladies' own shared workshop - forty warm, soft blankets, just like the ones that recently brought pleasure to school pupils in Velka Ida, Saca and the Lunik IX neighborhood in Kosice.

Firebrick Plant gets new refractory material production line

A new production line for making KOPUH VP refractory packing material has been brought into trial operation at the Firebrick Plant belonging to USSK subsidiary Refrako. The completion of this second-largest investment project at the subsidiary in recent years, included in parent U. S. Steel Kosice's Capex plan, is significant above all from the point of view of prompt fulfillment at the right quality of the growing demands for a new type of refractory material from the blast furnaces staff.