This is the story of one of the significant modernisation operations in a five-year span in the steel business perhaps anywhere in the world. We are proud to say that it happened in Poland. We acquired the company following its privatisation in 2004. We set up a very clear vision and mission to modernise the company, to bring it out of a bankruptcy situation, and to give Polish steel a new identity not just in Europe, but also in the world. I genuinely believe that we have achieved that.

In this five-year story there are several milestones. The first and the most important one is that we have invested more than USD 1.2 billion, that’s a little more than PLZ 3.8 billion in this period. This is a large investment in one single destination.. In terms of technology we have brought in a state-of-the-art hot rolling mill in Krakow. It was installed in 2007. At that time, as declared by the manufacturer, it was the best hot rolling mill in the world, not just in Europe. Again, something we are proud of.

The third milestone is that we have surpassed the commitments of the sale and purchase agreement on various occasions. The hot rolling mill is one such example. We were only supposed to modernise it, but we brought in a new mill. The technology we have introduced has touched every facet of steel making, starting from primary steel making operations, i.e. we overhauled the blast furnace at Dąbrowa Górnicza in 2006. It is one of the most modern blast furnaces in Europe.

Then we installed a state-of-the-art continuous slab caster, again in Dąbrowa Górnicza on the primary site. Then we went into downstream activity as well. On November 30 2009 we inaugurated the cold rolling mill after modernisation. We have modernised a wire rod mill in Sosnowiec. We brought in a new advanced colour coating line in Świętochłowice and we put up a brand new coke over battery in Zdzieszowice.

We have also demonstrated the ability to hold a strong social dialogue. We have created a sense of trust and co-operation with trade union colleagues, to the extent that we have two trade union representatives on the supervisory board of the company. All large trade unions join management meetings every week. I personally believe that we have created a level of transparency that is a tough act to follow in a business like steel.

We have also restructured the business where it was necessary. We carried out manpower restructuring over the five-year period. We have created social packages here which we believe are the best in Poland in the heavy metallurgical industry. We have paid out as much as the equivalent of 18-22 months’ salaries for early retirement or opting for a separation package.

We have paid a lot of attention to the environment, because the plant in Krakow is relatively older compared to Dąbrowa Górnicza, it is in the heart of the city. We have invested significantly in environment projects to come up to the expectations of local people. In fact, we have appointed a chief green officer, a person who engages in dialogue with local residents to take their phone calls on a toll-free line to understand what their problems are and to respond to them. We planted 350,000 trees in continuation of our focus on what we call a green revolution.

All in all, at the end of all this, we have a Polish steel making operation which can match the best around the globe, which can compete with anyone on technology. Now we are taking the first steps to move up the product value chain to be able to delight our Polish customers with steel they used to import so far.