From being an agriculture-based temple town, Trichy has transformed into the largest fabrication cluster in the country over the last four decades. The Golden Rock Railway workshop was the only notable industrial unit with which Tiruchi was identified then.

The establishment of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) in Tiruchi in the early 1960s was the beginning of the growth of the fabrication industry here. Luminaries like Dr V. Krishnamurthy helped establish ancillary units for mother industries, an outsourcing model that the automobiles industry later adopted in the1980s and the 1990s.

BHEL's collaboration with Czech and US companies helped it pass on knowhow and best manufacturing practices to its ancillaries. It also set up the Welding Research Institute on its campus.

Power equipment

Though growth was slow in the initial four decades, the fabrication industry has grown rapidly since the beginning of this century, thanks to the explosive growth in the power sector.

Starting with about 10 sectors in the late sixties, it has grown to over 600 now — providing jobs to over 40,000 people directly.

Ancillaries today contribute about 2.5 lakh tonnes of fabricated parts to BHEL.

This growth also attracted other power equipment manufacturers, who found Tiruchi an ideal location for setting up their facilities to manufacture or outsource their requirements.

Today, 60 per cent of the country's demand for wind towers is met by Tiruchi. Mining, machine tools and process equipment are some of the other sectors whose demands are fulfilled by the fabrication industry here.

The State Government has begun a process to set up a common facility centre for small and medium enterprises. The centre shall also provide a platform for skill development, research, etc. It is aimed at improving skills in the industry and helping enterprises move up the value chain.

Published on December 7, 2011