East Slovakia Metallurgical Combine

one of the largest metallurgical combines in Czechoslovakia, located in the city of Košice. The combine operates on imported iron ore (from the USSR) and Ostrava coking coal. The combine manufactures cast iron, steel, steel blades, pipes, assembled steel, and bridge sections. The combine is the principal producer of light-gauge sheet steel for the automobile, machine-tool manufacturing, and canning industries and for domestic appliances.

Construction of the East Slovakia Metallurgical Combine was begun in January 1960, and the metallurgical cycle was completed in June 1966. The combine was equipped with the technical assistance of the USSR, Poland, the German Democratic Republic, and other countries. It is connected with the USSR by a standard-gauge main railroad line. In 1968 approximately 17,500 workers were employed at the East Slovakia Metallurgical Combine. In 1968 the combine smelted approximately 2 million tons of cast iron and 1.7 million tons of steel, and produced more than 1 million tons of rolled steel.