KOCHI: The Kalamassery unit of HMT Machine Tools was once a hub of manufacturing. Over the years, however, operations were scaled down, with a decrease in staff and a shortage of working capital leading to doubts over the very existence of the public sector unit (PSU). Now, hopes for its redemption have been rekindled with a three-member external technical panel visiting the facility to gauge the scope of an expansion of activities, especially catering to the defence and railway sectors.
The development comes close on the heels of a visit by Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Steel H D Kumaraswamy last month, when he said the Centre wanted to expand all units, including the Kalamassery unit. Personnel from the external agency Ernst and Young, during its two-day visit on September 9 and 10, inspected the plants and studied aspects like total capacity, current capacity utilisation, total area and staff strength requirement, among others.
The team also sought suggestions from the officials on areas of expansion. The EY delegation was briefed on the immense potential in the defence and railway sectors. “Already, the special machine tools, like Shellturn and CNC Lathe, developed at the unit are being used in a major way in the manufacture of weapons including bombshells in ordnance factories. The proximity to the Naval Armament Depot (NAD) augurs well for the unit to be developed as a major weapon component manufacturing centre. Another area of expansion is the rail wheel machining, especially the forging and manufacturing of railway wheels,” an official said.
In 2022, the HMT Kalamassery unit developed surface wheel lathe for simultaneous reprofiling of both wheels of the axle wheel set (new and worn out) with high accuracy and surface finish. However, it is yet to get bulk work in a big way.
Despite the many hurdles, the unit has been consistently profitable and managed to achieve an average operational profit to the tune of `6.54 crore per year between 2014 and 2023. Even in the 2020-21 financial year, when Covid hit industries hard, the HMT Kalamassery unit managed to churn out an operating profit of Rs 11.89 crore. That when the other four functioning units of the subsidiary of HMT Ltd have been incurring losses for several years. The Kalamassery unit, which boasted a staff strength of 3,500 in its heyday, now has just 125 permanent staff.
The major hurdles cited before the panel include the lack of funds for investment and non-receipt of government aid in the form of advances. “Usually, PSUs receive a 30 to 40% advance amount when entrusted with projects. But we are paid only after the full commissioning,” the official added. The team also visited the manufacturing unit of HMT at Hyderabad (September 11, 12), and the headquarters in Bengaluru (September 15, 16). The EY panel will submit a report to the headquarters in Bengaluru by the end of October.
