HISTORY
      The origins of HMN Szopienice existance date back to 1834, when heirs of George Gieshe, the company Bergwerksgesellschaft Georg von Gieshes Erben established Wilhelm’s Zinc Works in Szopienice commune.
      In 1845 production of cadmium was set to motion in the Zinc Works.
Back then the zinc industry started to develop rapidly in the area of Sosnowiec, D±brówka Mała and RoĽdzień, due to heirs of Gieshe activity. In 1861, in exchange for a Zinc Works DAVID and KING SAUL’s mine in Chropaczów, they took over PAWEL Zinc Works with ABENDSERN share in D±brówka Mała.
  After many legal issues connected with environmental protection, in 1864 a Lead Works was established at the borderlands of D±brówka Mała, nearby PAWEL Zinc Works. The Lead Works was called WALTER CRONECK. It derived from the name of Gieshe’s company board of representatives director. In 1880 NORMA Zinc Works was bought back from A. Wolf, and after purchasing an area south to PAWEL Zinc Works, along Siemianowice-Szopienice railway, another zinc works was established.
     By 1900 the complex of Szopienice’s Zinc Works, employing 2124 workers, had reached a production high of 24822 tons of zinc. The exclusive brands of WH and PH from WILHELM and PAWEŁ Zinc Works in particular were sought after on the London metal stock exchange.
Development and modernization on a large scale in the beginnings of XX century, made the complex of Szopienice’s Zinc Works the biggest production center of metal in Silesia, and the biggest in the world as it comes to cadmium production. In 1928 the most modern zinc electrolysis was set to motion. By 1912 “SAGER” Zinc Ore Manufacture and Zinc Works UTHEMANN had been established.
      The period after II World War radically changed the side of Szopienice’s steelworks. Between 1947 and 1945 cooper refinery department, that of melt-refined furnaces and electrolytic refined cooper was constructed. In 1950 Szopienice Zinc Industrial Plant was converted into a company called Szopienice Industrial Plant. As part of the further modernization, production of silver was set into motion in 1955, and liquid CO2, for the chemical industry in 1958.
     Restructuring on a broader scale and decisive changes took place in 1970s. The zinc works with it’s metallurgical nature was transformed into a processing company. On the 27th of July 1987, the company was named HMN Szopienice Non-iron Metal Works.
    In 1973 a cooper Shape Mill, with economical capacity of 80000 tons a year, producing cooper wire 4 to 18 millimeters wide in circle, was set to motion. The production was fully automatic, using the latest technologies, that caused reorganizing of technical and technological back services. In 1976 after the devices were assembled, a new department of Cooper, Brass and Bronze Sleeves and Rollers Foundries, produced in a continuous horizontal method was established.

      However in 1978, after 3-year period of constructional and assembly works, the biggest part of the investment, a Cooper and Brass Strip Mill was finished. It’s a modern department, considered to be one of the newest objects of this type in the world and therefore constantly modernized. In the following years the range of products was increased by light-wall tubes, that used free production space in Cooper Shape Mill.
NatoOn the 1st of July 1998 HMN Szopienice was converted into a joint-state company, due to Treasure Secretary’s decision.
The growing ecological awareness caused a successive shutdown of plants, that were harmful to the environment, concentrating on cooper processing.
The company restructuring had a very positive impact on the quality of products. In 1998 HMN Szopienice received a quality certificate approving the conformity of the Quality Management System with ISO 9001 standard.
Since the year 2000 the steelworks is functioning within the confines of IMPEXMETAL capital group, and since the beginning of 2005, as a part of the stock market giant BORYSZEW S.A. company. The last 30 years of changes and restructuring made the company HMN Szopienice very confident while facing the new challenges posed by the European Union, on the one hand with it’s 170 year history, on the other hand with modern ecological technologies and products.

 
     On 26th of October 2008 the joint stock company HMN Szopienice S.A. was dissolved and liquidated.

 Dariusz Zieleziński

Translated  Piotr Rzychoń.