U. S. Steel Kosice is Company of the Year

Annual awards for outstanding business results were presented in Bratislava on Tuesday by the weekly magazinne TREND. The Company of the Year award for 2005 went to U. S. Steel Kosice, s.r.o., which means that in the eight-year history of these awards for the most successful firms in Slovakia, the Kosice steelworks are finally the first winner from Eastern Slovakia itself.
U. S. Steel Kosice scored highly in practically all the growth indicators assessed, becoming only the second metallurgical manufacturer since the inception of the TREND awards to achieve good enough business results to earn itself the prize for this country's most successful non-financial company (in 2001 the first place was taken by Slovalco). The Kosice steelmakers have been greatly assisted by the rise in world steel prices, but they would not have been able to draw so much advantage from this rise without top-quality management and well-judged investments.

Friends of Slovakia gala evening

A grand gala evening principally intended to celebrate the progress and economic growth in Slovakia took place on November 9th in the Radisson SAS Carlton Hotel in Bratislava. Among the headline speakers were U. S. Steel Corporation President and CEO John Surma together with former NATO General Secretary George Robertson. For his speech John Surma gained the 2005 Friends of Slovakia Keynote Speaker Award. USSK President David Lohr was a member of the organizing committee for this gala evening. The photo on page (number?) shows John Surma with Chairman Jan Surotchak and Vice-chairman William Tucker of the Friends of Slovakia organization, which was responsible for putting on this event.

Best supplier award

A few days ago in the Slovenian town of Spodnja Idrija, sales staff from U. S. Steel Kosice were presented with the 2005 award for best supplier by the company Rotomatika Slovinsko, part of the Hidria Group,. The ceremony took place in the presence of other suppliers to this electric motor manufacturer, a group dominated by companies like Thyssen Group, Voest Alpine, Corus or Arcelor. USSK supplies Rotomatika with electrotechnical sheets, and this company is one of our biggest customers in Slovenia. This award, which raises the image of the Kosice steelmakers in the face of competition from the other suppliers, is also a confirmation of the good work put in by the whole team participating in the production and supply of sheets to the electrotechnical industry.

"Wishing Trees" at USSK

In a few days' time, on Monday November 21st, "Wishing Trees" will be set up at four locations around the steelworks, with small cards hanging on them featuring financially-modest Christmas wishes and the names of various children's homes. Everyone who wants to help needy children in this way, to bring them a little more happiness during the Christmas festivities, can take one, two or maybe more cards from a tree, buy the particular gifts indicated on the cards in the shop of their choice, and bring them to one of two collection points together with the cards from the tree, which will help fulfill some of the specific wishes of an individual children's home. Preparation of these cards - and of course the whole project in fact - was undertaken by its initiator, USSK President's wife Susan Lohr, with helping hands from the wives of other American managers working in Kosice.