U. S. Steel Košice, s.r.o.

U.S. Steel Košice (until November 2000 Železiarne Východoslovenské, abbreviation VSŽ, East Slovakian Steelworks ) is a steel mill southwest of the second largest city in Slovakia Košice in Šaca district. It is one of the largest companies in Slovakia and has nearly 15,000 Employees ( as of 2008).

The steel plant was established on 1 April 1959 as a state-owned enterprise ( Národný podnik ) and construction began a year later. The steel plant should increase the lack of Czechoslovak production of the rolling stock to meet the growing market. The first blast furnace went into operation in 1965, complete the work in 1966 was completed. The coal is delivered from the area around Ostrava and the iron ore from the then Soviet, Ukrainian Krivoy Rog today. The transport of the ore passes over the broad gauge route Uzhgorod - Košice.

After the Velvet Revolution VSŽ was privatized in 1989. At the beginning of a voucher privatization was carried out ( various funds = 25 %, natural persons = almost 30 %, funds of state owned property = 37 %). Under the government of Vladimir Meciar, the recessive family came with Meciar's support to the shares; In 1997, almost half of the shares in their possession. In 1998, the company was in a serious financial crisis, with the debts of 13 billion SKK and faced bankruptcy. After the political changes of 1998, the Mikuláš Dzurinda's government came to power, and prepared the sale of the company to a strategic investor before. The U.S. Steel Corporation purchased the steelworks final on 24 November 2000.

In 2008, U.S. Steel Košice had a turnover of 3.1 billion euros and a profit of 338 million euros. The annual capacity is 4.5 million tons of pig iron; 2008, production amounted to 4.1 million tons.