Heavy engineering industries in Tiruchi region, which are going through a rough patch due to shrinkage in orders from BHEL, have been sounded out on business opportunities at Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai, particularly in the areas of forging and machining.
At a session on ‘Business opportunities at ICF, Chennai,’ organised on Wednesday by Confederation of Indian Industry, Tiruchi Zone, ICF Senior Materials Manager S. Jayaprakash apprised prospective vendors of the tender process to supply components.
The requirement for vendors was on the rise for ICF and huge opportunities awaited the fabrication sector in Tiruchi, he said and urged them to actively participate in the tender process.
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Vendors in Tiruchi could derive advantage from the proximity to Chennai over those in places such as Kolkatta and Pune from the second year onwards. In the first year, only 20% of development orders out of the net procured quantity would be sourced from the new vendors, he said.
A long-time partnership would be to the betterment of vendors in Tiruchi due to the reputation of ICF, Chennai, for making prompt payments.
The vendors in Tiruchi could gain valuable insights by participating in the mega-vendor meet to be hosted by ICF, Chennai, on March 11, Mr. Jayaprakash said.
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Unlike in the case of BHEL for which the vendors carried out conversion, in the case of ICF, they would have to procure the materials themselves. For this, the prospective vendors could tap the utility of the Raw Material Assistance Scheme of National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC).
Under the scheme, NSIC provided financial assistance for procurement of quality raw materials at a low cost to MSME sector so that the industries could concentrate on manufacturing quality products. MSMEs could utilise economies of scale and avail cash discount or bulk purchase discounts. NSIC took care of all procedures and documentation, he added.