Give thermal power plant orders to Bhel: MSMEs

While diversification into other sectors including toy manufacturing is considered a long-term plan of MSMEs, to stay afloat and clear the debts incurred due to Covid-19, engineering and fabrication units here have sought the Union government to facilitate thermal power plant orders to Bhel Trichy.

As some of the components for the thermal power plants will be outsourced to ancillary units in Thiruverumbur, Ariyamangalam and Thuvakudi industrial localities, MSME associations said such fresh orders will help them safeguard their factories and stop from heading for closure. “If the new power plant orders were released to Bhel Trichy, our units will get an opportunity to manufacture subcomponents. We are deprived of orders for years,” said Rajappa Rajkumar, president, BHEL Small Scale Industries Association (Bhelsia).

“We are producing components only for 25% of the actual capacity of 400 units in and around Bhel Trichy. While diversification is our long-term plan, we need new orders in between to survive for the next few years,” Rajkumar added. TNN