The skills of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation engineers in adapting the foreign technology to suit the local conditions came in for praise at the workshop on “Success experience of specialized mining equipment (SME) in NLC mines” organised by the Institution of Engineers (India), Neyveli local centre, here on Tuesday.
Speaking on the occasion NLC Chairman-cum-Managing Director B. Surender Mohan said that at the inception of the company specialised mining equipment (SME) with German technology was deployed in Neyveli mines.
These SMEs were being used in the open cast mines in Germany. But after the capital intensive SMEs were procured from Germany the NLC faced certain unforeseen problems. Considering the geological factors such as hard soil strata, clayey soil and upward thrust of aquifer (as the mining ought to go deeper than the water table) in Neyveli the imported SMEs were not equal for the task.
However, the NLC engineers by using their technical skills and through tireless efforts brought about certain modifications in the SMEs. With ingenuity they succeeded in overcoming one problem after another to make the SMEs function efficiently under the trying conditions.
Changes in machinery
The Chairman congratulated the NLC engineers who had proved their mettle in incorporating suitable changes in the imported machinery to improve their functioning.
Later, the NLC engineers developed the indigenous technology to recondition the SMEs which would otherwise had been rendered obsolete and rejuvenate them so as to expand their life-span and to improve their performance.
The Chairman further said that so far the core strength of the NLC had been lignite mining. However, since the NLC was diversifying into coal-based power plants he called upon the NLC engineers to explore the feasibility of deploying the SMEs in coal mines.
On the occasion the Chairman honoured the stalwarts of the SME technology who had rendered valuable service to the company.
NLC directors Sarat Kumar Acharya and S. Rajagopal, and IE (Neyveli) chairman N.Ilamparithi, who is also an executive director (SME), former NLC director (Mines) A.K.Subramanium and others participated.