On 1 April 1993, 7th Commercial and Registry Division of the District Court in Katowice entered Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa S.A. in the commercial register. The court also decided that the company could use the abbreviation JSW S.A. The court's entry was a consequence of a decision made a month earlier by Wacław Niewiarowski, then Minister of Industry and Trade, who issued a directive to transform seven mines: "Krupiński," "Borynia," "Jastrzębie," "Moszczenica," "Zofiówka," "Pniówek" and "Morcinek" into a wholly-owned State Treasury company.
The Company's first Management Board appointed Maciej Czernicki as President of the Management Board, and Stanisław Jabłoński, Ryszard Markowicz, Józef Mielnikiewicz and Stanisław Nawrat as Vice-Presidents of the JSW S.A. Management Board. Andrzej Karbownik was appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
How was JSW established?
In the early 1990s, the mines gained full organizational and financial independence. They were able to trade coal freely at home and abroad. Excessive mining capacity and falling coal prices at home and on the international market have made competition in the mining industry extremely fierce and led to the selection of profitable mines, which were a minority in the sector, and a far greater number of mines producing at a deficit.
The mining sector as a whole was suffering increasing losses. In 1993, the government adopted the first mining restructuring program. It provided for the creation of 7 coal companies on the basis of 70 mines, thus completing the process of independent adjustment of mines to the requirements of market economy. Most mines have been stripped of their organizational, economic and financial autonomy.
JSW was established on the basis of both profitable and unprofitable mines. The weaker mines had to be rescued at the expense of the better ones.
Restructuring stage
From the time JSW was established in 1993 until 2006, the company conducted continuous restructuring, which involved, among other things, spinning off assets directly unrelated to the company's core business and creating separate legal entities on their basis.
In October 1994, the "Jastrzębie" mine was merged with the "Moszczenica" mine. As a result, the "Jas-Mos" mine (later Jastrzębie Section) was established. In 1995, the Material Logistics Unit was established. A year later, Polski Koks was established. In 1998, the "Morcinek" mine - due to unprofitability of mining - was put into liquidation, which ended in 2000. In mid-2003, Koksownia "Przyjaźń" sp. z o.o. was established, to which the State Treasury contributed in kind Zakłady Koksownicze "Przyjaźń" from Dąbrowa Górnicza in December 2003. In 2008, the State Treasury contributed the "Budryk" mine to JSW, after which the company embarked on an extensive modernization program to switch the mine from producing only type 34 (semi-soft) coking coal and steam coal to producing higher-value type 35 (hard) coking coal.
In 2010, JSW acquired the water management and reclamation company, Przedsiębiorstwo Gospodarki Wodnej i Rekultywacji S.A., from the State Treasury. On 1 January 2011, as part of the ongoing reorganization processes, JSW integrated the "Borynia" and "Zofiówka" mines, creating a new two-section "Borynia-Zofiówka" mine. In the same year, JSW acquired KK Zabrze and WZK Victoria.
On 1 July 2011 JSW was floated on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Two years later, in turn, the "Borynia-Zofiówka" mine was joined with the "Jas-Mos" mine to form the "Borynia-Zofiówka-Jastrzębie" combined mine. On 1 August 2014, Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa purchased the Knurów-Szczygłowice mine from Kompania Węglowa.
As of 1 January 2023, there have been further changes. The former "Jastrzębie-Bzie" mine now functions as the Bzie Section and has been merged with the "Borynia-Zofiówka" mine. Thus, a new combined mine was created under the name "Borynia-Zofiówka-Bzie."
JSW has gone through many crises in its long history. It became necessary to sell WZK Victoria and Spółka Energetyczna Jastrzębie, which took place in 2016. As part of the restructuring, the “Krupiński” mine was transferred to SRK in March 2017. The Jastrzębie Section was also transferred to SRK.
Plans for the future
JSW is committed to sustainable development and is actively working to reduce its carbon footprint. The Company is also investing in research and development to find new, more environmentally friendly methods of coal production, as well as in wind and solar power projects to make its operations more sustainable for future generations. The Company is also committed to reforestation and water management initiatives, as well as to improving the lives of its employees and the communities in which it operates. The Company provides its employees with extensive training and development programs and supports local initiatives such as sports teams, cultural events and community projects.