Brdo pri Kranju, 22 October 2026 – SIJ Group has received the AI of the Year 2026 award for its comprehensive and strategic approach to adopting artificial intelligence across key business and production areas. The Group manages a portfolio of 39 initiatives and projects that combine steelmaking expertise, data and advanced technologies to improve processes, support employees and create business value. It shares the award with Riko.
The award was presented at the annual CIO of the Year 2026 gathering of ICT managers at Brdo pri Kranju, co-organised by Housing and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia.
SIJ Group’s approach is underpinned by its AI adoption strategy, developed in 2024. The strategy guides the Group’s gradual transformation into a data-driven industrial organisation in which artificial intelligence supports decision-making and delivers measurable business benefits.
“The AI of the Year 2026 award is an important recognition for SIJ Group and confirms that we have approached artificial intelligence in the right way: not as technology for its own sake, but as a tool for creating business value. Steelmaking is an exceptionally demanding industry in which energy, raw materials, time, and the efficiency of processes and decisions are directly linked to business performance. With artificial intelligence, we are building on our extensive industrial expertise to make better decisions, use resources more efficiently, improve product quality and continuously optimise processes. Our goal is not to introduce individual technological solutions, but to build a data-driven industry in which technology supports people and creates measurable business value,” said Igor Malevanov, Member of the Management Board and CFO, also responsible for IT, SIJ Group.
The portfolio of AI initiatives and projects is organised into three programmes:
User processes: artificial intelligence helps employees access information, prepare analyses and carry out their day-to-day work.
Production processes: data, predictive models and digital twins support improvements in quality, yield, energy efficiency and production reliability.
Process automation: solutions reduce repetitive administrative tasks and enable more standardised process execution.
A unified data platform, UNS (Unified Namespace), has also been established as a key foundation for the transformation. It connects data from production, laboratories, energy management, quality management and business applications, enabling real-time data exchange. By providing high-quality, connected and accessible data, it enables faster development of digital solutions and facilitates their deployment across SIJ Group companies.
Business intelligence and data visualisation also span all three programmes, enabling the monitoring of key performance indicators and project outcomes while providing users with a clear view of the data.
“Today, we manage a portfolio of 39 AI initiatives and projects across user processes, production and process automation. Close collaboration between IT teams and experts from production, development and other business areas is essential to their development, as technology works well when it is meaningfully combined with people’s expertise. At SIJ Group, we use it in our most demanding production and development processes, including machine vision for slab identification and digital twins to optimise steelmaking furnace operations and simulate different steel properties, eliminating the need for additional industrial trials, as well as in our colleagues’ other day-to-day tasks. Above all, the AI of the Year 2026 award therefore recognises everyone whose expertise helps create solutions that work in practice and deliver business benefits for SIJ Group,” said Boris Horvat, IT Director, SIJ Group.
The award recognises SIJ Group’s comprehensive approach, which goes beyond introducing individual technological solutions. Alongside IT specialists, employees from various business areas and SIJ Group companies, as well as external development and technology partners, contribute to developing and implementing solutions. Their collaboration demonstrates that combining steelmaking expertise, data and advanced technologies can deliver tangible improvements and measurable benefits in production, business processes and support for employees in their day-to-day work.
SIJ Group allocates its own development funds to the development and adoption of artificial intelligence, while also carrying out a significant share of its development activities through national and European development projects.
---
SIJ – Slovenian Steel Group is one of Europe's leading producers of stainless steel and special steels. We are committed to global and European climate goals and operate in line with circular economy principles. With our steel and steel products, we are the right partner for facilitating the green transition in Europe. We confirmed our sustainability credentials by achieving certification to the stringent ResponsibleSteel standard in 2024. This positions us as one of the world's most responsible and sustainable steel producers. Our two largest companies are modern recycling steelworks, and our steel is recycled because it is made from steel scrap. With 3,500 employees, we are one of the largest employers in Slovenia and a pillar of the Slovenian steel sector. We are one of Slovenia's leading exporters. About 85% of our revenue is generated in foreign markets.
Find out more at:
SIJ – Slovenska industrija jekla, d.d.
Mag. Sara Wagner, Head of Corporate Communications
Corporate Communications
Phone: +386 1 242 98 27
Mobile: +386 41 313 532
E-mail: sara.wagner@sij.si
