RINL unit in UP to be operational in Oct
Visakhapatnam-based Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd sets up forged wheel plant at Rs1,680-cr investment; Annual production capacity is 1 lakh pieces of forged wheels
image for illustrative purpose
Visakhapatnam: Union Minister Faggan Singh Kulaste on Monday said RINL's forged steel plant in Uttar Pradesh (UP) will be commissioned by October 2021. Kulaste was on a day-long visit to the plant located at Lal Ganj in Rae Bareli, about 80 kilometers from Lucknow, to review the progress of the unit.
"We are looking to begin the commercial production of forged wheels by September-October," the Minister of State (MoS) for Steel said. The trial production has already been done. A few last-minute trials are under progress following which it will be ready for commissioning, he said. Visakhapatnam-based Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) has set up the plant at a cost of around Rs 1,680 crore with a production capacity of one lakh pieces of forged wheels per annum.
The minister extensively toured the various sections right from saw area, the forging line to heat treatment, the machining and testing of a forged wheel of the forged wheel plant and witnessed the entire process of wheel making.
Kulaste commended the efforts of RINL forged wheel plant employees who made India proud with their dedicated efforts in manufacturing wheels without any foreign experts' help. He wished that the plant will go for commercial production of the wheels very soon to enable import substitution.
Earlier, the company's plan was to start the commercial production by March-April 2020 following the hot trial of forged wheel lines at the plant, but it was disrupted due to the Covid-induced lockdown.
During lockdown, foreign experts involved in trials were required before commissioning the plant who left for their respective countries in Europe, which further delayed the production.The minister has directed senior company officials to commission the plant at the earliest, Sanjay Kumar Jha, General Manager (Projects) at RINL informed.
Jha said:"The wheels will be supplied to the Indian Railways for coaches.The Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), which works under the ambit of the Railway board, has also tested our sample wheels and we expect their approval this week."
RINL, under the Ministry of Steel, produces special steel, including wire rod coils, rounds, billets of different grades and dimensions.It is the first shore-based integrated steel plant in the country.
