Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), established in 1953, is one of leading power generation equipment manufacturers in the world. BHEL has 14 manufacturing units, 13 Regional Operation Divisions and more than hundred "service-at-sites" facilities spread all over India. BHEL offers comprehensive service to its customers in Conventional and Non-Conventional Energy, Industry, Transportation, Telecommunication and Oil sectors. BHEL has also bagged export orders from 40 countries around the world.

BHEL, TIRUCHIRAPALLI

The High Pressure Boiler Plant of the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited was setup in 1963 for the manufacture of High Pressure Boilers. The plant achieved its full annual capacity to design manufacture and supply high pressure boiler equipment upto 4000 MW in 1984 with boiler unit ratings upto 500 MW.

BHEL, Tiruchi has over the years seen formidable growth in capacity, capability, turnover and profitability. Product diversification has resulted in the development of new products enabling BHEL to absorb modern technologies. Such innovations result in continuous updation of manufacturing facilities to serve the customers in a more comprehensive way and for improving quality and productivity.

BHEL, Tiruchi has added to its High Pressure Boiler Plant (HPBP), a Seamless Steel Tube Plant (SSTP) at Tiruchirappalli (adjacent to the HPBP), a Boiler Auxiliaries Plant (BAP) at Ranipet (in the state of Tamil Nadu), a Piping Centre (PC) at Chennai in Tamil Nadu and an Industrial Valve Plant (IVP) at Goindwal (in the Northern state of Punjab).

HPBP and SSTP are spread over 2908 acres of land at Tiruchi and BAP over 1256 acres at Ranipet. HPBP and SSTP have a covered shop area of 2,50,000 square meters and BAP Ranipet has 47,000 square meters of covered shop area.

TECHNOLOGY ASSIMILATION AND DEVELOPMENT

With judicious mix of in-house R&D and selective technology tie ups, BHEL Tiruchi has developed excellent Engineering and R&D capabilities.

For various products, technologies from international leaders in the field have been absorbed and adopted to suit local conditions and customers specific needs. These products can now be designed to various international Codes and Standards. The capabilities have been accorded recognition by reputed international agencies.

BHEL Tiruchi has today demonstrated capability to design boilers and auxiliaries for unit rating upto 500 MWe.

Through in-house R&D, the technology for Fluidised Bed Combustion has been developed for burning high ash, low grade coals, coal washery middlings and rejects and a variety of bio-fuels such as husk, rice straw and bagasse.

BHEL Tiruchi has also developed Firing System for Direct Ignition of Pulverised Coal thus minimizing use of supporting premium petroleum fuels like Furnace Oil / Diesel in the boilers.

BHEL Tiruchi has also been identified as a nodal agency for all Fossil Fuel Based Research Activities state-of-the-art R&D facilities such as Fluidised Bed Combustion (FBC) and Circulating Fluidised Bed Combustion (CFBC) test facilities, Direct Ignition of Pulverised Coal (DIPC) test facility, Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP) flow modelling facility to enable full fledged testing of systems and equipment.

Research and Development effort on new welding processes, equipment and consumables are undertaken by the Welding Research Institute (WRI) established at BHEL Tiruchi.

With superior engineering and R&D capabilities, BHEL Tiruchi is well poised to introduce new products such a boiler and auxiliaries of higher ratings (in the range of 800 MWe), Super Critical Once-Through Boilers, Fabric Filters and Flue Gas Desulphurisation system.

WORLD CLASS FACILITIES

BHEL Tiruchirapalli has equipped all its units with sophisticated world class machinery, which form the heart of the manufacturing system.

The facilities include 8000 ton Hydraulic Press, a four Roll Plate Bending Machine, a large capacity Induction Pipe Bending Machine, Arc Welding Robot, Flat Fin Welding Machine, Panel Processing Machine, Tandem Arc Welding Machine & Cutting Machine, Electron Beam Welding Machine, Spiral Fin and Stud Welding Machines, sophisticated Tube-to-Tube Sheet Welding Facilities, Bore Cladding Machines, CNC milling, drilling, boring and machining facilities, tube bending machines, a plasma cutting machine, a CNC gas cutting machine etc.

QUALITY COMMITMENT

All the plants are equipped with state-of-the-art analytical, mechanical and non-destructive testing facilities. The Calibration Centre which is a National Accredited Laboratory, possesses the latest techniques and facilities in the field of calibration. The Seamless Steel Tube Plant has on-line ultrasonic, stray flux and eddy current test facilities to ensure highest quality production. The Boiler Auxiliaries Plant has a modern fan test station, flow model test facilities, test air heater, etc.

QUALITY RECOGNITION

Adherence to quality has helped BHEL Tiruchi win quality recognition from National and International accreditation agencies.

ASME "S"-Stamp authorisation recognising BHEL, Tiruchi as 'Power Boiler Manufacturer' to ASME Code - a first for an Indian company.

Class-I Pressure Vessel Manufacturers Certificate from Lloyds Register of Shipping, UK.

Group-1 Boiler Manufacturing Certificate from American Bureau of Shipping.

API Monogram for manufacturing Oil Field Equipment for Valves.

Seamless Steel Tube Plant is an approved manufacturer of Steel Pipes and Tubes by Lloyds Register of Shipping.

Seamless Steel Tube Plant is certified as ' Well Known Tube and Pipe Maker' by Central Boiler Board of the Indian Government.

CUSTOMER SERVICES

At BHEL Tiruchi, every system is tuned towards serving the customer. The entire project management required for timely execution of customer orders is handled through a computer network system. Planned production of components in workshops as well as timely ordering on outside vendors is carried out to ensure despatch of components matching construction schedule at the sites. This helps BHEL in maintaining product deliveries with shortest lead times.

Services are provided during and after commissioning of equipment by Field Engineering Services. With this dedicated team of engineers and technicians, site problems are attended to with the utmost urgency. Effective interaction is maintained with customers to have continuous feedback on equipment performance.

Supply of spares and service-after-sales are two other major components of BHEL Tiruchi's service support. BHEL Tiruchi ensures timely supply of spares for proper upkeep of equipment and maximization of equipment utilization. Techniques and methodology have been developed to assess the residual life of components, based on which selective replacement decision can be made to extend the productive life of the equipment.

CERTIFICATION

BHEL is the first state-owned company to acquire ISO 9000 certification during 1993 for all its operations. This is being successfully maintained through surveillance and recertification audits.

BHEL is continuing its thrust on Total Quality Mangement (TQM) as per Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) / European Foundation Quality Model (EFQM) of Business Excellence. As a commitment towards TQM, continuous improvement action plans are implemented involving techniques like Benchmarking, Business Process Re-engineering, Six Sigma etc.

CII has conferred "CII-EXIM Commendation Certificate" on the High Pressure Boiler Plant for 'Commitment to TQM'.

BHEL Tiruchi has been accredited to ISO 14001 Standard - signifying its clear commitment to clean and pollution free environment.

GLOBAL LINKS

The achievements have earned an international reputation for BHEL, Tiruchi. The plant has so far supplied boilers for around 1350 MWe of power generation capacity to Malaysia, Libya, Iran, Egypt etc. BHEL's valves have been exported to Malta, Cyprus, Malaysia and Indonesia while pressure part equipment and spares have been exported to the USA. Boiler components have been supplied to China and Seamless Steel Tubes have been exported to Malaysia.

PEOPLE OUR GREATEST ASSET

Behind each one of these activities lies the commitment and dedication of the employees, technical experts, process engineers and skilled workers, whose contribution has attributed to penning this success story.

BHEL Tiruchirapalli is the proud winner of successive Productivity Awards and the 'Sword of Honour' from the British Safety Council. The President of India has awarded the shield for the Best Employer of Physically Handicapped Persons to BHEL Tiruchi. Vishwakarma National awards and Young Engineer Awards have been won in successive years by the employees of BHEL Tiruchi.

BHEL Tiruchi has won goodwill and sustained support for its employee welfare schemes. A township to ensure housing, the Sir C.V. Raman Science Centre and other educational facilities form the core of these schemes.

As a responsible corporate body, BHEL Tiruchi, India has adopted several neighbouring villages to help them uplift their lot.

SURGING AHEAD........

BHEL Tiruchirapalli stands for all that is cherished by every member of BHEL, where Quality is company-wide commitment. Dedication to technical excellence, development of state-of-the-art technology-suitable to customers specific needs and strict adherence to quality standards form the guiding principles while it surges ahead confidently into the future.