By IANS
Ranchi : The Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC), a state-run firm once headed for closure, is back in profits and is aiming to more than achieve the financial targets for the current fiscal.
“In the current financial year, we have crossed the target set by the heavy industries ministry,” HEC chairman and managing director G.K Pillai told reporters here Thursday.
“We have achieved sales of Rs.180.17 crore (Rs.1.80 billion) against the target of Rs 172.28 crore (Rs.1.72 billion). The annual target has been fixed at Rs.360 crore (Rs.3.60 billion) by the ministry but we are hopeful of achieving more than Rs.400 crore (Rs.4 billion) in sales,” he said.
Set up in 1963 with its headquarters here, the HEC was a dream project of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. However, except for three years, it remained a loss-making firm.
Two years ago, it was referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), which recommended its closure. However, the Jharkhand government requested the central government to revive the ailing company.
The decision against closure proved right as HEC posted a profit of Rs.28.40 million in 2006-07.
“The HEC has the potential to emerge as a large profit-making company and we have rarest of rare infrastructure. The only thing we need to restructure and remodel is ourselves,” said Pillai.
“We need to address four things: adopt latest technology, upgrade plant and machinery, get skilled manpower and (achieve) cash inflow in the company,” he said.
The HEC has planned to target railways, steel companies and mining. “There is boom in the steel sector. And we are trying to get work orders from steel companies and railways,” he added.