The Hindu : Business : FACT to reopen plants by March 15

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Tuesday, Feb 26, 2008
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FACT to reopen plants by March 15

Staff Reporter

Interim relief will help FACT tide over its problems

Joint venture with RCF by next month
Proposal to set up container freight station

KOCHI: The management of Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) has decided to reopen all its plants, including the caprolactam and ammonium sulphate plants, by March 15. Arrangements have been made to ensure that production restarts as scheduled and raw materials are available by that date.

A senior official of the public sector fertilizer company said the decision to restart production has been conveyed to the trade unions and also the Union Ministry of Fertilizers.

The ammonium sulphate, caprolactam and ammonia plants of the fertilizer company were shut down in July last. The phosphatic fertiliser plants ran at around 50 per cent capacity over the last four months resulting in shortage of Factamfos, the sales driver product for FACT.

It is expected that the interim relief of Rs.200 crore sanctioned by the Union Finance Ministry would be available by the middle of March, easing the shortage of working capital for the company.

The marketing division of FACT has been alerted to ensure that sale of caprolactam is tied up with the buyers and March production is sold out in that month itself.

Sale of Factamfos and ammonium sulphate produced in March will be sold only in April.

The FACT also expects to deal in about 2.5 lakh tonnes of fertilizers during the new financial year. Two shipments of urea are expected during the April-May period. Necessary follow-up with the Union Ministry of Fertilizers and procurement agencies such as the Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation (MMTC) will be done by the FACT to ensure that the targets are met. The FACT management has also set a target of sale of 50,000 tonnes a month of gypsum.

Meanwhile, a statement from the FACT said the foundation for the proposed joint venture for gypsum-based building products between the Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF) and FACT will be laid by the end of next month.

The new venture is expected to give a big boost to FACT’s fortunes. Gypsum-based panels are widely used in buildings and a demonstration building, using rapid wall panels from gypsum, is being put up on FACT’s Udyogamandal premises.

The FACT management is also trying to get approvals from the Union Ministry for the joint venture by FEDO and FEW by the end of March. Projects like the one for producing bottled drinking water and a skills development academy will be speeded up.

A proposal for setting up a container freight station and a maintenance yard along the new rail link to Vallarpadam International Container Transhipment will be put up for the consideration of the Board of Directors at the next meeting.

As part of the management efforts to streamline production process in March, arrangements have been made to make sure that sufficient employees are available, said the FACT statement.

Instructions had been issued to fill up backlog vacancies of SC/ST and technicians on contract basis so that they are available in the first week of March.

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