THE SIJ GROUP ENABLES BUNNY SLOPE AT POSEKA SKI SLOPE

Ravne na Koroškem, Saturday, 24 February 2018 – Children from Carinthia started their winter holidays with a winter family outing at the Poseka ski slope in Ravne na Koroškem, where a bunny slope was put into service. By donating a ski lift to the culture, sports, tourism, and youth association (ZKŠTM) Ravne na Korošem, SIJ Metal Ravne and SIJ Ravne Systems of the SIJ Group made learning to ski and having fun on the snow possible for children. The use of the bunny slope is free of charge this year.

The Family Snow Day at the Poseka ski slope was first and foremost aimed at having fun on the new bunny slope. Children from the Ravne na Koroškem kindergarden greeted all visitors with a heart-warming song, while the pupils of the Majči skiing school were the first to test out the new slope and encourage other children to give it a go. Children from the local environment, who will be making their first skiing turns during their winter holidays at the end of the Poseka ski slope, where conditions are especially suitable for beginner skiers, were particularly thrilled to receive the new donation.

“Their first contact with the snow is vitally important for the young skiers,” Zdravko Kotnik, the head of the Poseka ski slope and representing ZKŠTM Ravne na Koroškem, pointed out at the opening ceremony. “If kids can also have fun skiing, they learn with much more enthusiasm and joy. The Poseka ski slope is suitable for families, and the easy to handle terrain at the bottom of the slope makes perfect conditions for beginner skiers. We are happy to have once again recognised the common interest with the SIJ Group to develop infrastructure of the Ravne Sports Centre, because until now, the closest ski slopes for kids have been at Rimski vrelec, which is 5 km away, and Kope, 17 km away.”

Care and responsibility towards the environment where employees of the SIJ Group work are among the fundamental guidelines of the SIJ Group, Samo Jenič, Managing Director of SIJ Ravne Systems, representing the donors SIJ Metal Ravne and Ravne Systems, pointed out, adding, “By supporting projects to develop sports infrastructure, we encourage the local community towards a healthy lifestyle and actively spending their free time. This new bunny slope also provides us with added value, because our employees and their families ski at the Poseka slope, and we are especially pleased that using it is free of charge.”

In Jesenice and Ravne na Koroškem, where the metallurgical companies of the SIJ Group are vital pillars of society, the SIJ Group strongly supports cultural, humanitarian, and sporting activities. “By working with the ZKŠTM, we offer the employees of the Group’s companies from Ravne na Koroškem free or substantially more affordable recreational activities at the Ravne Sports Centre, and we have also constructed an outdoor gym using our steel. With the excess heat coming from the steel melting process in the arc furnace at SIJ Metal Ravne, we can heat the indoor and outdoor pools. And finally, we have already organised the SIJ Winter Games – our second-largest employee gathering – twice at the Poseka ski slope,” Sara Wagner, Head of Corporate Communications at the SIJ Group, pointed out.


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The SIJ Group is the largest Slovenian vertically integrated metallurgical group, ranked among the top market positions in the European and world niche steel markets. In addition to metallurgy (its core business), the SIJ Group is also involved in the food industry (the Perutnina Ptuj Group) and employs close to 7,500 people in Slovenia and abroad. The SIJ Group generated 763.5 million Euros in revenues in the first nine months of 2017 (a 19.7% increase compared to the same period of the previous year), an EBITDA of 78.8 million Euros (similar to the same period of the previous year of 78.4 million Euros), and a net profit of 13.7 million Euros. In the third quarter of 2017, the SIJ Group maintained its high profitability, since the EBITDA margin was at 10.3% for the first nine months of 2017, keeping it above the industry average in metallurgy and in the food industry.

Additional information:
The Slovenian Steel Group
mag. Sara Wagner, Head of Corporate Communications
Telephone: +386 1 242 98 27
Mobile: +386 41 313 532
E-mail: sara.wagner@sij.si