Aluminium a metal of strategic importance to the nation and vital raw material for key industries, says BALCO Chief

Mr Abhijit Pati, CEO and Director of BALCO explained how India’s iconic Aluminium & Power producer countered the unconventional situation which occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic and forced to shape the business more sturdily and pursue the momentum of growth.

Mr Pati, a person to reckon with the Aluminium industry for the past three decades stated that Aluminium is a metal of strategic importance to India and a vital raw material for key industries like electrical distribution, transportation, aerospace, defence, building & construction etc.

He also added that it is an uninterrupted operative function, which denotes that the BALCO’s smelters have to run 365x24x7. Furthermore, as BALCO is one of India’s largest producers of aluminium, it became a self-challenge to assure that production retains during the pandemic, however with minimum resources and following safety measures.

With extensive experience and an illustrious career spanning over 30 years in the Aluminium Industry, Mr Abhijit articulated that as the domestic orders were cramped, BALCO dynamically changed the product mix to cater for the changing customer needs and to the export market through global customers.

Mr Pati’s articulation comprised that supply chain beholds acute manpower and demand crisis across ports and shipping lines, so the company revolved their sourcing strategy to procure from new suppliers, who had swiftly worked out to deliver the materials.

BALCO deployed the Digital Logistics Control Tower to remotely monitor the raw material logistics from port or mine to plant and plan operations accordingly.

All operational parameters pursued to be monitored virtually while ensuring there is minimal physical proximity, due to COVID-19 protocols within plants. RFID sensors at each operational point capture automated operational parameters within the plant.

A multi-level virtual war-room was developed to monitor the yielding COVID situation daily and take decisions accordingly. Presently, this war room has now converted into a business transformation office so that aluminium producer doesn’t lose the agility which they earned during the COVID-19 lockdown phase.

During the lockdown, the digital collaborative platforms which came in force are now omnipresent, to connect employees working from home, remote service providers and plant sites at all times.

Mr Abhijit Pati affirmed: “Most of these changes we made at the height of the pandemic continue to persist, and have changed the very fabric of the organization to make us nimbler and more adaptable to volatile external conditions.”