The year 2018 was a significant year for us. On the 7th of June, we commemorated the 25th anniversary of the founding of Slovalco.The results we achieved in the jubilee year are more favourable compared expectations laid out in the business plan, although they were significantly affected by the macroeconomic impacts that we were unable to predict when creating the plan. What I mean, in particular, is the development of prices of input raw materials – mainly aluminium oxide – as well as the global impact of some political decisions or economic fluctuations.

However, from the point of view of workplace health and safety, we have not achieved the set goals. We have recorded a total of three TRI incidents, all involving Slovalco employees; no contractor injury was registered. One of the injuries caused incapacity to work (an employee lost his footing when getting out from a vehicle). Two cases involved injuries to fingers. In this area, we should be warned by high risk incidents that occurred last year, the consequences of which could have been very serious in the case of adverse circumstances. Therefore, our aim will be to focus intensely on prevention in the field of health and safety. We have prepared a special program aimed at risk identification and management, within which we will train all employees on the use of appropriate risk mitigation tools. If we want to be successful in the implementation of this program, we – the company’s management – must lead by example and proceed through leaders to all operators and other employees. A personal example, inner attitude and behaviour itself are what help us convince and encourage others to engage and assist in revealing potentially serious and hazardous situations of both human and technical nature, and help us find effective measures to minimise the existing risks and avoid incidents.

Looking at the production figures, we have achieved very good results mainly thanks to the precise management of technology, continuous improvement and consistent performance of work operations. We have high-quality, reliable and loyal employees and thanks to their efforts, dedication and knowledge, we have stable processes and achieve excellent results. We devote time to the management of technology, using experience and upgrading existing tools. We continue to eliminate bottlenecks in order to further improve and exploit the opportunities offered by the existing technology. In the period under review, we produced the largest volume of liquid metal and we have reached the highest cur rent intensity since the start of production. With the diverse quality of input raw materials, we have achieved technological parameters that have been among the best in the recent years.

In the field of investments, we are gradually renewing and modernising our equipment. At the same time, we have a separate ongoing project using elements of automation and artificial intelligence in manufacturing processes. They help us to lighten the workload, improve the level of employee safety and protection, and prevent certain conditions that may lead to dangerous situations. We see great potential and many opportunities in this area. Therefore, we will continue focusing on automation and the latest trends in artificial intelligence. A major challenge for all the employees of our company is the Process Scrap Remelting Project approved by the Board of Directors. This is another important milestone in the history of Slovalco. Its importance lies in enabling us to meet our longterm challenges, increase the value of the company and its further potential, help diversify our business areas, increase labour productivity as well as encourage further professional development of our employees. At the same time, it shows the interest of the shareholders in the development of Slovalco in the long run. In addition, this project has a strong environmental dimension: saving energy, the environment and promoting waste recycling.

As far as the next period is concerned, our goal is to continue improving and moving forward. We are preparing other plans and activities, including investment proposals that will provide us with a clear future, lightened workload, improved ergonomics, better work environment and help us become more effective. We want to belong to the best; therefore, we need to increase our competitiveness by improving productivity and better utilising employee potential. We also want to fulfil this intention through another important ongoing project which will help us to be one of the best plants in the world in terms of fixed costs and productivity. I am convinced that we can achieve this and will continue to maintain your trust.

Milan Veselý

Chief Executive Officer