KOCHI: HMT Machine Tools-Kalamassery in collaboration with Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) will manufacture ultraviolet (UV) disinfection chambers to be put up at establishments and hospitals.A spokesman for HMT-Kalamassery told TNIE that a prototype of the disinfection chamber has already been made. He said a proposal has been submitted before the Ernakulam district collector for making a disinfection chamber for Government Medical College, Kalamassery. The PSU has also received an order to make a UV disinfection chamber for Mala-based KSB Pumps. He said hydrogen peroxide in a fumed form is released into the chamber to disinfect people. After that, the chamber is decontaminated using UV rays.
The officer said the PSU has received enquiries from BARC, Mumbai, Cochin Shipyard, ECI-Kochi, CRPF-Thiruvananthapuram, Department of Atomic Energy, HAL etc regarding the disinfection chambers. “Once the proposal gets the clearance, we will start manufacturing the disinfection chambers,” the official said.
HMT-Kalamassery is also ready to make isolation pods which will help hospitals carry the patients directly from ambulances to the hospital beds without infecting the persons around. This is also designed and approved by the Sree Chitra Institute, he said.
Profits reported, but...
HMT-Kalamassery reported total sales of `68.45 crore for the year ended on March 31, 2020. This is slightly lesser from the previous year’s `68.56 crore. “We lost the last two-three weeks of March due to the Covid-19 lockdown. We are on course to report at least `75crore-`78 crore sales before the lockdown affected our operations,” the spokesman said.The company reported net profit of `1.73 crore during 2019-20. It was `3.53 crore in the previous year. “The Covid-19 outbreak and the lockdown that followed affected our profit target,” he said.
