A group of 13 seniors, former ironworkers who are members of the Autumn of Life civic association, visited U. S. Steel Košice this week. Many of them returned to the company where they had left a part of their working life after many years.

With his colleague František Gregor,  they took a bus tour and walked along the Teplá valcovňa railway station and in the hall of the Galvanizing Line No. 3.

"The show was very interesting, we were excited. Thank you very much to our guide Ferko for the great explanation, he really knows a lot about ironworks. I'm a metallurgist, there are several of us here and I have to say that a lot has changed in the company, especially big technological changes are noticeable," the head of OZ Anna Havierová summed up her impressions after the show.

The debate then continued over a good lunch. In a pleasant atmosphere, seniors shared their experiences from working life with us.  They reminisced about the beginnings of building the factory and recruiting employees, about the experiences from their workplaces, but also about various sports events that they liked to participate in.  They recalled how cards were once passionately played during the tram journey to or from work, card players had their reserved places in the trams. One of the curious experiences was the case when people from the purchase had tanks, no longer functional, intended for scrap brought to the ironworks. However, they were placed in a row along the scrap yard and their presence on the factory grounds also aroused interest in Radio Free Europe. To retell all the experiences, we would need to publish a book.

But it wasn't just about memories. The seniors were very interested in topics related to the future of the factory, ecology, the situation on the markets, employment, and the topic of decarbonization.  These questions were answered in a lively discussion by the Director for External Relations, Ján Bača.