BHEL corporate recorded a 29 per cent increase in turnover during 2008-09 to Rs.27,505 crore (Rs.21,401 crore for 2007-08). Net profit earned is estimated at Rs.3039 crore. Order inflow increased to Rs.59,687 crore (Rs.50,270 crore) and capital investments were a healthy Rs.1106 crore.

The units of BHEL at Bhopal, Haridwar, Hyderabad, Ranipet, Tiruchi… performed quite well. The leader, the high pressure boiler plant at Tiruchi, had a turnover of Rs.7413 crore with a profit before tax of a whopping Rs.1603 crore. The Ranipet unit of BHEL was set up in the early 1980s to produce boiler auxiliaries like fans, electrostatic precipitators, dampers and gates and air heaters.

Ranipet, located some 120 km on the NH4 Chennai - Bengaluru, had for long been known for its leather tanneries and leather products. Through the past couple of hundred years, these industries had contributed to severe environmental degradation; in the 1970s the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu helped set up an industrial estate. Several chemical and engineering industrial units in the medium sector surfaced. But this small town earned an important place in the industrial map of India only after the advent of BHEL.

Big jump in turnover, profits …

A V Krishnan, executive director of BHEL-R, provided the proof for this: during 2008-09 the unit recorded a turnover of Rs.2002 crore, a 30 per cent increase over the Rs.1427 crore of the previous year and nearly four times the turnover of Rs.544 crore in 2004-05. Physical performance was equally spectacular with 190,063 tonnes of fabrication. Of this over 100,000 tonnes were outsourced to over 300 ancillary units spreading employment and prosperity. Value addition per employee jumped by 19 per cent during the year to Rs. 19.79 crore. The unit earned a profit before tax of Rs.253 crore. Does one see a slowdown or recession in the economy?

BHEL’s sprawling workshop at Ranipet is a beehive of activity. The battery of machines manned by an enthusiastic workforce, has been turning out increasingly sophisticated products that included the fuel tank for the Chandriyan spaceship. Facilities are upgraded with handsome investments of over Rs.117 crore to increase capacity to cater to the needs of 15 000 MW per year.

Krishanan referred to a comfortable order position of Rs.6512 crore at the end of March 2009 that will more than take care of capacity for production over the next two years. The value addition is high and increasing. The unit paid a customs duty of Rs.40 crore and excise duty of Rs.148 crore. The unit has updated the ISO 9000 certification to 2008.

The seamless manner of scaling up technology and production is evident in the unit winning orders for the new generation super critical boilers of 660 MW and 800 MW capacities.

Great strengths in water treatment …

Krishnan provided gratifying news relating to water treatment. BHEL R&D had done pioneering work in this area as yearly as the 1970s. It supplied a 100 MLD desalination plant at Naripuyur; but it moved away from this business. Today it has identified rich potential for water treatment plants.

And for good reason: every thermal plant needs a tailor-made demineralization (DM) plant designed and produced to treat different types of water - from the sea and rivers to brackish and sewage waters. Krishanan referred to the expertise developed at Ranipet to design and supply such plants on turnkey basis: “of the 32 projects that ordered equipment on Ranipet, 21 included orders for DM plants, each of these valued in the range of Rs.80 crore to Rs.160 crore. Thus, over the next couple of years, business from water treatment plants alone will account for over Rs.1000 crore per annum accounting for over a third of Ranipet’s total sales! Thus after the four major product lines of boiler auxiliaries, DM plants will be an important activity. Water treatment plants have mechanical equipment like evaporators, scrubbers, membranes and filters. Ceramic membranes are developed at the R&D wing of the electrical porcelain division of BHEL-Bangalore.

With such expertise it should just be one step away for BHEL to offer large capacity desalination plants to meet the increasing thirst for drinking water.

Greater heights in ESPs…

BHEL has done considerable work on reducing pollution through sophisticated electro static precipitators (ESPs). BHEL-R has supplied so far around 1400 ESPs. Krishnan referred to R&D work on continuous refinements of the ESPs and technology for finer treatment of flue gases. He pointed to over dozen technologies for gas cleaning that deal with suspended particles, sulpher and nox related gases…An interesting prospect is the development of much more compact equipment that may obviate the need for large sized ESPs.

Welcome focus on R & D

For years IE has been pointing to the need for increasing R&D spend. Till 2000 AD most of the R&D spend was made by defence establishments, CSIR, ICAR and public sector corporations like BHEL. There is a welcome trend of increased R&D spend by the private corporate sector, notably pharma and automobile companies. It was gratifying to hear BHEL-R spending Rs.46 crore on R&D forming 2.6 per cent of turnover in 2008-09. The unit has applied for 19 patents for copyrights.

At the IIT-M Science Park, BHEL-Ranipet and Tiruchi have taken 3000 sq.ft. each to do basic research in collaboration with the institute. The faculty and students will be involved in the R&D work on specific areas relating to high pressure boiler technology. An investment of Rs.1.5 crore is being made as initial capital expenditure with provision for a recurring annual expenditure of Rs.40 lakh. The facility is expected to become operational in the next few months.

On 9 April 2009 BHEL-R signed a MOU with the heavy water board of the Department of Atomic Energy for transfer of technology under licence. The board has a patented technology for control of particulate emissions in flue gases emanating out of coal fired boilers.

BHEL-R has also been involved in a variety of social activities designed to improve living conditions in the villages around Ranipet. With the institution doing such good work in the area of pollution control and on environment-friendly technologies, there are expectations on its involvement in dealing with the one major concern of the residents of Ranipet - pollution of the river and water systems caused by the tanneries. Krishnan is fully conscious of this issue that also impacts on 10,000 odd workers and their families directly employed by BHEL-R and an equal number serving with ancillaries and other service providers. He pointed out that this damage, accumulated through two centuries and more, demanded concerted action on the part of all concerned. It is a welcome sign that this public sector giant with known social concerns, is giving its attention to this chronic problem.

Changing face of Ranipet…

The face of Ranipet has undergone a spectacular change after the advent of BHEL-R. Imagine the impact of around Rs.200 crore of salaries and wages of a large workforce of the unit expended annually in this tiny town! And to the fallout on improving the living standards and quality of life of those in and around Ranipet! Imagine a hundred trucks moving in and out of BHEL-R everyday and to the 300 odd ancillary units that provide so much scope for employment! A high degree of technology spread, notably application of IT software and management practices, does have its precious impact on the society around. Krishnan and his team confidently talk of BHEL-R producing goods worth Rs.5000 crore from the end of the current Plan (2007-12). Truly the horizons of Ranipet have expanded!