Tradition of the Company 380 Years of Steelmaking in the Meža Valley
- The year 1620 is considered to be the official beginning of steelmaking at Ravne when Melhior Putz, a young, mining speculator and ironworker from the Lavamünd valley sold his mines and bloomeries in Wölch and St. Gertraud and moved to Črna where he also had his concession for two melting furnaces transferred.
- In 1624, Melhior Putz sold his mines and ironworks to the Count Hans Ludvik Thurn whose name was then kept till the end of World War II.
- In the period between 1838 and 1882, Thurn's products were awarded with several prizes for quality all over the world (Trieste, Wienna, Paris, ...) which shows that steel upgrading and production modernization were well provided for. They were selling steel to numerous customers in Spain, Portugal, Switzerland,Germany and even in China.
- On June 20, 1922 the steelworks was for the first time entered into the Maribor commercial register as a Slovenian Steelworks of the Count Jurij Thurn in Guštanj.
- As the Austrian army was not regularly paying due amounts, the Steelworks ran into debt and there were also out-of-date plants which needed modernization. Therefore, the Count Vincent Thurn entered into partnership with Böhler in Wienna. A general meeting of a new joint-stock company took place in Maribor on June 27, 1927. Böhler became a secret owner of the steelworks.
- When World War II was finished i.e. on August 22, 1945, the Steelworks of the Count Jurij Thurn was confiscated and changed its name into the ''Guštanj Steelworks''.
- In June 1945, an open-hearth furnace was put into operation which was then followed by a new Foundry, Rolling Mill, Forging Shop, Axle Shop and Horseshoe Shop.
- A five-year plan in the period in 1947 was an introduction into a complete reconstruction of the steelworks.
- The year 1952 saw a new Foundry plant finished where a Siemens-Martin furnace of 10 t and an electric arc furnace of 4 t started to operate.
- In 1952, a press of 600 t with heating furnaces was put into operation.
- In spring 1952, the ancient Guštanj changed its name into Ravne na Koroškem and became a town; the factory was named the ''Ravne Steelworks''.
- In spring 1953, a high-frequency furnace started to operate for the first time and was used for production of steel resistant to heat and acids, and of steel with special physical properties.
- At the same time, research&development actions were organizied in the form of departments; ultrasonic test was introduced into product inspection.
- In 1958, the 600 t press was replaced by a unit of 1200 t which was soon followed with another hydraulic press of 1800 t.
- The period between 1960 and 1970 is considered to be the most successful one from the view of production expanding. The Intermediate Rolling Mill was installed beside the press – 1800 t (1956), a new Steel Plant was set up in 1966 in which the first electric arc furnace of 40 t started to operate in 1967 and a second one in 1970. In that same year, a Blooming Mill was put into operation in the Rolling Mill.
- Already at that time, the production program was composed of 65 % high-grade, 34 % quality and only 1 % ordinary steels.
- In 1972, automatic data processing was initiated and in 1977 the first heats were made using a process computer.
- The year 1980 saw a set up of a modern forging line GFM for high-alloyed steels and a new UHP furnace was installed in 1991.
- The Ravne Steelworks was awarded the AVNOJ prize at the end of 1986 which was the highest national prize at that time.
- As a result of crisis caused by the collapse of the state and the Yugoslav market, the new state confirmed a new plan: nationalization – restructuring – privatization based on the assessment by the international company Mc Kinsey.
- In 1991, according to a decision by the Workers' Council an agreement for a free transfer of company's capital onto the Holding of Slovenian Steelworks was signed which transferred the capital to the Republic of Slovenia. The first step, nationalization of the steelworks was finished.
- In 1992, the Ravne Steelworks was divided into several independent production companies (Metal Ravne, Jeklolivarna, Noži, STO, Stroji and Armature Muta) and services. Metal Ravne d.o.o. was officially founded on December 23, 1992
- 2006 The holding of Slovenske Železarne is renamed into the holding of Slovenska Industrija Jekla; the process for privatisation of the holding SIJ –Slovenska industrija jekla started and ended in the year 2007.
- 2007 OHSAS 18001 certification.
- Between 2006 and 2014, a period of intensive investment cycle – a new Forging Shop of Heavy Forgings, Blooming Mill modernisation, modernisation of the Teeming Pit in the Steel Plant, a new ESR plant, modernisation of machining in the Forging Shop.