Indian state-owned aluminium smelter National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has, for the first time in its history, achieved full operation of its nameplate capacity of 960 pots at its aluminium smelting plant in Angul, Odisha.
Nalco’s head Shri Sridhar Patra put the last pot into production earlier this week via a remote connection to the corporate offices in Bhubaneswar. The 960th pot coming online marks the first time in the firm’s 41 years of operation that the plant has run at its full capacity.
Patra noted in comments at the ceremony that the last pot coming online was a “breakthrough moment” that the firm achieved during quite difficult times. He credited the achievement to be partly the result of strategic planning and initiatives by management as well as determination and dedication by the plant’s labor force.
Also present at the virtual commissioning was HR director Shri Radhashyam Mahapatro, P&T director Shri Manasa Prasad Mishra, and Production director Shri Bijay Kumar Das as well as others in company management.
Nalco’s Odisha aluminium smelter has won several awards and recognitions to date for its sustainable operations, including a rating of “Excellent” by the Indian Ministry of Mines MOU ratings.