‘BHEL facing tough business environment’

Faster delivery, quality and productivity improvement, and cost reduction through innovative methods will be the focus of the Tiruchi unit of the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), said its Executive Director A.V. Krishnan here on Sunday.

Addressing employees after hoisting the national flag during the Republic Day celebration at the BHEL Township, Mr. Krishnan said this was a special year for BHEL as it enters the 50th year of its establishment when it is at a crossroads facing a tough business environment in the power sector.

Competition is increasing, margins are being squeezed, and customers are demanding ever shorter delivery cycles, he said and called upon the employees to rise up to the occasion.

The absorption of supercritical boiler technology was a big achievement of the unit in the past few years. More thrust was being given on research and development towards in-house development of advanced ultra supercritical and coal gasification technologies.

The Welding Research Institute was also going all out to become a world class research facility, and state-of-the-art facilities have been set up for manufacturing import substitute T91 tubes at the Seamless Steel Tube Plant, for Titanium fabrication at Unit II of the High Pressure Boiler Plant and in the boiler production shops for streamlining operations and increasing throughput.

With new areas of business being explored in the oil and petrochemical sectors, the unit would be able to weather the tough times, he said.

Earlier, Mr. Krishnan hoisted the national flag at Arivalayam, BHEL’s Special School and Vocational Training Centre for differently-abled children, and distributed sweets to the students.

He also inaugurated an Organic Family Farming initiative of BHEL’s Kerala Samajam and a new Children’s Park at the Community Centre in the BHEL Township.