David H. Lohr among employees on New Year's Eve

At the same time that Kosice people were getting ready, either out in the open on Main Street or in the warmth of their family circle, to welcome in the New Year, U. S. Steel Kosice President David H. Lohr was tracing his steps in line with tradition back to the steelworks. From around two and a half hours before the stroke of midnight until one o'clock the following morning he spent the time together with Vice-president Operations Scott C. Pape, Metalurg Trades Union Council Chairman Mikulas Dula and a new guest, acting Kosice City Mayor Frantisek Knapik, visiting employees at the rolling mills, steel shops, blast furnaces and power plants whose working shift straddled the turn of the year.

Works Healthcare Service to look after employees' health

From January 1st of this year there is a new component in the complex of benefits provided by U. S. Steel Kosice to protect the health of its employees - the Works Healthcare Service. In setting up this Service (which has its roots in the Occupational Health Section of the Occupational Safety and Health Department), the Company is also responding to the legislative requirements of the Slovak Republic and of the European Union. In the words of Works Healthcare Service Director Michal Ihnatek, the aim of its activities is to protect and promote employees' health by means of efforts to prevent the incidence of illnesses and injuries.

Business Breakfast with the US Ambassador in Slovakia

Back in December the American Chamber of Commerce in Slovakia and the InfoUSA Center at the State Research Library in Kosice jointly organized a meeting with the Ambassador of the United States of America in Slovakia Mr. Rodoph Vallee for representatives of the industrial parks located in Eastern Slovakia.. The aim of this meeting was to inform the American guest about the current situation of these parks and the opportunities they offer for potential investors. The representatives of seven industrial parks and associated companies presented the basic infrastructural amenities of their facilities, the economic and social situation in the particular region where they operate, and their own entrepreneurial intentions.

Safety Day at the Metallurgical Technical School

Education towards conscientious responsibility for personal health, prevention of injury and damage to property is one of the priorities in the work of the Metallurgical Technical School in Kosice. In this spirit, and just before the Christmas vacation, the school organized the 2nd edition of its annual Safety Day on December 22nd, in which all 19 classes of day-pupils participated, led by student-assistants from the 1st and 2nd years of post-graduation further education specializing in occupational safety and health protection.
The aim of this event was to assess the dangers and risks within the school environment and in places well-known to school-age youth. The assistants familiarized the pupils with the basic concepts of risk analysis, which pairs of pupils then used to solve practical problems in a written test followed by a discussion. In groups the pupils then dealt with a model situation with a simple risk-assessment algorithm worked out by the 60 most active pupils with PC assistance. This very high-standard event was also attended by U. S. Steel Kosice managers. It provided an opportunity for problem-solving team-work, contributed to development of pupils' communication skills, enabled them personally to join in discussions with USSK staff, and verified the specialist readiness of the further education students.