“BALCO has been an early adopter of smart technologies for heightened operational efficiencies, which further bolsters the culture of energy optimization, safety, and productivity that we have meticulously fostered across the organization”, Abhijit Pati, CEO & Director of Bharat Aluminum Company Limited (BALCO)

Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) was established in 1965 as a Public Sector undertaking in Korba, Chhattisgarh. After its disinvestment in 2001, the Vedanta Group has taken over its management. The plant is hailed as one of India’s greatest disinvestment turnaround success stories, with a massive production capacity of 575,000 tonnes from its initial production of 100,000 tonnes when Vedanta acquired a 51% stake in the plant.

Mr Abhijit Pati is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Director of Bharat Aluminum Company Limited. Mr Pati is a name to reckon with the Aluminium Industry for the past three decades and he has joined BALCO after a long stint as Chief Executive Officer of Vedanta Limited’s, Jharsuguda unit, which is one of the largest single location smelters in the world, outside China. He has rich experience and an illustrious career spanning over 30 years in the Aluminium Industry. In this interview, Mr Pati reveals the new plans and strategies of Balco designed for 2022.

AlCircle: How do you conceptualize 2022 for the global aluminium industry following the Covid economic impact, rise in the price of aluminium and the military conflict between Russia-Ukraine?