Huta Katowice

Katowice Steelworks (Polish: Huta Katowice) is a large steel plant, located in southern Poland, on the boundary between historical provinces of Lesser Poland and Upper Silesia. Current name of the plant is ArcelorMittal Poland Dąbrowa Górnicza, and its previous names were Mittal Steel Poland, Ispat Polska Stal S.A., and Polskie Huty Stali S.A.. Contrary to its name, Katowice Steelworks is not located in the city of Katowice, but in Dąbrowa Górnicza, which is located east of Katowice.

The decision to build a modern, brand new plant, located in a forested area of Zagłębie Dąbrowskie was taken by Edward Gierek during the VI Congress of Polish United Workers' Party, which took place on December 6–11, 1971. The construction was initiated on April 15, 1972, and it brought far-reaching changes to the social structure of the region. Thousands of migrants, mostly from eastern Poland, came to work and live in newly built flats. Furthermore, additional projects, serving Katowice Steelworks were initiated, such as Broad Gauge Metallurgy Line, which was used to transport iron ore from the Soviet Union.

Construction of the plant was carried out with cooperation with Soviet experts, and the honorary title of the First Worker was granted to Leonid Brezhnev. Altogether, some 50,000 workers took part in the project. First unit of the plant was opened in 1975, and in May 1976, Metallurgical Corporation Huta Katowice (Kombinat Metalurgiczny Huta Katowice) was created, which, besides the plant itself, also included Felix Dzerzhinsky Steelwork (now Huta Bankowa) in Dąbrowa Górnicza, and Coke Plant in Zdzieszowice. On December 2, 1976, at 7 a.m., the blast furnace was fired for the first time, and on December 3, 1976, first 30 tons of pig iron were retrieved.

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