Every day, in one 12-hour shift, around 2,000 - 2,500 tons of hot coils, sheets and strips leave the DP Hot Rolling Mill. They are transported literally all over the world by approximately 40 rail cars, which mainly go to harbors, and approximately 30 trucks, which transport the ordered material to customers within Europe.
Jozef Drotár has been working in our plant since 1989. He joined the DP Cokery and in Banská Štiavnica he was pleased to meet Vladimir Molčan, another award-winning employee with whom he had worked during his early days at the steel plant and whom he had not seen for 30 years. Since 1991, Jozef has been working at DP Hot Rolling Mill Shipping.
From the forests to the Coking Plant
He primarily studied at the forestry vocational school and worked in the State Forests of Košice. From the natural scenery of forests to the steel plant? "After the velvet revolution, the situation in the State Forests changed. So, my uncle, who worked in the steel plant, convinced me to come to the then VSŽ and I stayed. Two of my uncles worked in the steel plant," says Jozef Drotár.
Working in a shipping section is stressful. Sometimes trucks are late, sometimes, although very rarely, they load the wrong or damaged material. “I’ve gotten used to the fact that I do my best work under stress,” says Jozef, adding: "It's a diverse job, something from every kind. Whether it's HR, economics, working with people... We're an excellent team, we've been working together for a long time, we get along perfectly. Everyone knows what I want from them and what I say goes. Even though people are all different."
In work and life, Jozef Drotár follows the credo: Everything must be brought to a successful conclusion. Do everything as best as possible: “I follow this at home too. When I do something, it must be 100 percent. My son tells me, an inch here or there. That’s not true, when I do it, it must be perfect!”
Jozef has many hobbies
Jozef has an incredible number of hobbies. He does everything around the house himself, which he completely remodeled. He also helps neighbors and friends with remodeling. In addition to construction work, he also enjoys working on the computer. In the village where he lives - in Slanské Nové Mesto, he is the deputy mayor and, among other things, is in charge of the municipal website. As a curator, he also takes care of the church in the village, plus the treasury and all the economic "things" related to it.
And that's not all: "I've been singing in the Roňva folklore ensemble for 12 years. We perform in Slovakia at various events, anniversaries of villages, we sang in Hungary, we performed also in Serbia. We sing folk songs from the Zemplín region that everyone knows. We have a wide repertoire. We have released two CDs, one of them is Christmas CD.
He also sings for colleagues
He has also performed for colleagues. Every year he organizes a joint gathering for them, for the entire work shift. And since Zemplín folk songs are well-known and catchy, his colleagues usually join in singing.
We also wanted to know what his wife thinks about his demanding job and especially his many hobbies, and where he finds the time for all these activities: "My wife supports me in everything, she helps me out, even though she doesn't sing . Yes. It's very time-consuming. I just need to plan my activities so that I can get everything done.”
The Award for Loyal Service surprised him. "Management probably based its decision on the results, because they are still good; our group is the best. Or I don't know why. But I was pleased, and so was my family.”
Photo: Ján Kisucký
