154 VOLUNTEERS JOINED THE 1ST DAY OF COOPERATION WITH THE LOCAL COMMUNITY OF SIJ GROUP

Ljubljana, Friday, 14 September 2018 – This Wednesday, SIJ Group co-workers joined under the slogan “Steel bonds between us” and became volunteers for the 1st Day of cooperation with the local community. With various activities they brightened the day of the people in their local communities in Jesenice, Ravne na Koroškem and Ljubljana and lent them a helping hand. 154 volunteers (117 SIJ Group co-workers and 37 athletes) dedicated more than 300 work hours, which would otherwise be spent at the work place, to provide a tidier, more beautiful and close-knit local community in Jesenice, Ravne na Koroškem and Ljubljana. This was their way of thanking their communities for their support of the successful business operation of SIJ Group.

SIJ Group members have a sense of belonging and obligation to the environment in which they work and live. The Group could not operate without the support of the local communities and good relations with the residents of Jesenice, Ravne na Koroškem and their neighbouring towns. They give back on a local scale with sponsorships and donations to mass sport and cultural programs, as well as educational and humanitarian activities, in which the SIJ Group employees and their family members gladly participate. This time, SIJ Group decided to reciprocate part of the support offered by the local communities, and strengthen the bonds in a different way – by volunteer work. On Wednesday afternoon, SIJ Group organised the 1st Day of cooperation with the local community. The employees who wanted to do some good for their communities joined hands with local athletes under the slogan “Steel bonds between us” and volunteered their time for a tidier, more beautiful and close-knit local community as a way of thanking the communities for their support of the Group’s operations.


In Jesenice, the volunteers played board games and Russian bowling with the residents of Dr France Bregelj’s Retirement Home, and helped the firefighters of the Volunteer Firemen Society Jesenice to clean up and tidy a storage. Four teams of volunteers rolled up their sleeves and gave a fresh coat of paint to the equipment at the playgrounds in Hrušica, Podmežakla, Stara Sava and at the Pristava Lodge in Javorniški Rovt.
Board member Tibor Šimonka, who volunteered his time at the Dr France Bregelj’s Retirement Home, was thrilled with the energy of the residents, among whom were many former steelworkers: “In SIJ Group, we have a sense of belonging and obligation to the environment in which we work and live. The Group could not operate without the support of the local communities and good relations with the residents. This is why SIJ Group decided to reciprocate part of the support offered by the local communities. From now on, SIJ Group co-workers will volunteer some of our time, which would otherwise be spent at the work place, to our communities and their residents. Today in Jesenice, 81 employees of SIJ Acroni, SIJ Elektrode Jesenice and SIJ SUZ joined forces with “the Steelers” – hockey players who gladly responded to the invitation to participate at the first SIJ Group volunteer day. Volunteers are also hard at work in Ljubljana and Ravne na Koroškem, where our companies produce steel and steel products. With a worthy purpose, we gathered 154 volunteers who will during various activities spend time with members of the community and work more than 300 hours.”


At the Koroška Intergenerational Centre, they discussed steelmaking then and now and the great importance of steelmaking for the Koroška region, as well as took a guided tour of SIJ Metal Ravne. At the special school OŠ Juričevega Drejčka, SIJ Group employees organised sports activities and games and showed their playful side together with the children. SIJ volunteers landscaped the walking paths of the Castle park in Ravne na Koroškem and removed old leaves and branches from the greens. Together with the members of Alpine Club Ravne, they painted the window frames and shutters.


At the Janez Levec Work and Employment Center in Ljubljana, SIJ Group co-workers teamed up with the patrons to landscape a park, paint a fence and restore the wooden tiles, and felt the meaning, connectedness and humanity of such a community.

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The SIJ Group is the largest Slovenian vertically integrated metallurgical group, whose products occupy leading positions on the European and global niche steel markets. The Group consists of two core business areas – metallurgical (core business) and food processing industry (Perutnina Ptuj Group). According to the first unaudited business results for the first half of 2018, the metallurgical and food processing areas generated sales revenues of EUR 557.8 million, an operating profit (EBITDA) of EUR 57.4 million.

Additional information:
SIJ – Slovenska industrija jekla, d.d.
mag. Sara Wagner, Head of Corporate Communications
Phone: +386 1 242 98 27
Mobile: +386 41 313 532
E-mail: sara.wagner@sij.si