Re-inventing, Re-engineering are words that have come
to be permanently associated with BALCO Plant 1, Restablished in 1965. The Plant operating with the VSS
(Soderberg) technology has shown a remarkable turnaround
from the moment it came under the Vedanta management and
leadership, in 2001. Every conceivable measure continues to
be taken to operate it to surpass installed capacities, without
jeopardizing COP figures or the human asset. The march
ahead has been arduous but the pursuit is relentless and
untiring. The huge pool of young talent which came to
characterize the plant is at its creative best, generating novel
ideas and solutions to every little and large problem ailing the
Plant that is as old as the organization itself.
ALUMINA
As aforementioned,
Plant I is as old as BALCO itself
and not much had been spent on
maintaining the plant and its
equipments since its Public
Sector days. Doubtlessly, these
have acted as brakes to
optimizing production. However, in recent years, much has
been achieved on account of major de-bottlenecking exercises
that have been undertaken with total dedication. The
consequences of these efforts are palpable: production has
increased from 1.9 lac tpa (ton per annum) to 2.45 tpa
surpassing the installed capacity of 2 lac tpa.
SMELTER
The story associated with the Smelter is similar. The
Smelter which did not produce beyond 98000 tpa of aluminium
prior to disinvestment, not only stepped up production to its
installed capacity of 1 lac tpa but went beyond, to produce 1.06
lac tpa during 2005-06 and is presently producing 1.13 lac tpa.
It is undoubtedly remarkable that the Plant has witnessed
a miraculous turnaround with an accelerated production that
exceeded target figures in such a short span of time since
disinvestment. The miracle happened when the operating
machinery was well-oiled and geared to accomplish what
seemed almost impossible, given the 'ancient' state of
technology. The System, Procedure and SOPs have been
followed to the dot. SOPs were made, scrutinized and
changed, based on the conditions at which the smelter was
being operated. Further, by suitable modifications to the pot
linings, the pot-line which was designed to operate at 100
KAmps is presently functioning at 113 Kamps.
FABRICATION
De-bottlenecking has been
done in each one of the 3
Properzis in the area of
Fabrication. The steel wheel in
one of the properzis was changed
to copper mould wheel to increase
its speed. This resulted in
increased rod output from the
earlier 56-57 tonnes per day to the
present 72 tonnes per day.
Similarly, in one of the other
properzis with copper mould, its
diameter was increased. With this
change, while keeping the RPM
unaltered at its original rate, production has increased from 6568
tonnes per day to 75 tonnes per day. As a result of these
changes, the output of the Rod Mill has increased today, from
5800 tonnes per month to 6500 tonnes a month.
Brainstorming exercises, strict SOP compliance and
discipline have enhanced the availability and reliability of the
Roll Contact Time of each and every mill that turn out Flat
products in the Rolling Mills.
Measures are afoot to enhance the production of Flat
Products from the present 60,000 tpa to 100,000 tpa. To meet
this target, the Company went for CAPEX from which some
expenditure has already been incurred while installing some
capital equipment. The 100,000 tpa mark is likely to be
achieved by March 2008.
One of the heartening aspects of the Plant's
operations is that their post disinvestment became the
charged nature of its employee force which realizes the
inextricable interdependence of
its growth and welfare with that
of the organization. The
Company, on its part, has
initiated a gamut of incentives
to inspire and motivate the
staff, including reward for, and
recognition of good work.
Better utilization of its human
asset, a well-streamlined
system of procedures, audit and
monitoring and have all
combined to augment
production in Plant I.
Plant I is presently gearing
up to benchmark itself with other
smelters in the world when
talked about safety. Utmost care is being taken to address the
issue by the Plant Head, the Safety Department, SB Heads of
every SBU wherein weekly and monthly reviews are done, not
only at the Plant level, but also at the level of the CEO. With the
ongoing stringent measures, it is hoped that the Plant would be
able to achieve its benchmark target by mid 2008.
Whereas the high fluouride emissions using VSS
technology has been a cause of concern in most smelters
anywhere in the world, Plant I has taken appropriate measures
in the last six months to keep this emission level, well within
permissible levels, by installing the dry scrubber system in the
Smelter. Similarly, in Alumina Plant, ESPs in Steam Plant are
under replacement and New Bought Cyclones are being
installed in Kilns
Last but not the least, their feasibility studies have been
undertaken to switchover from the present VSS (Soderberg)
technology to the PreBake. The Company is awaiting long-
term results of such a switch undertaken in a few smelters in
China and also on two lines of Hindalco to observe their
economic viability.
PLANT I PRODUCTION: AN OVERVIEW
Plant Installed Capacity Present Production
Alumina 200,000tpa 245,000 tpa
Smelter 97,000 tpa 113,000 tpa
Rod Mill (all 3) 48,000 tpa 78,000 tpa
Rolling Mills 36,000 tpa 60,000 tpa
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