Local Company to supply Fuelling Machine Head to NPC

Bangalore, May 2 (UNI) The Bangalore based Avasarala Technologies Limited will on May 23 deliver the first of the four Fuelling Machine Head to the Nuclear Power Corporation (NPCIL) for unit five and six of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Project.

NPCIL Chairman S K Jain would receive the first of the four machines the company would be making for Atomic power projects in the country.

Talking to newsmen here today Avarsala Technologies CEO and Managing Director T T Mani said the Company had last year totally refurbished Unit 1 of the Kalpakkam Atomic Power Plant and would soon take up a similar exercise for a unit at the Kakrapara plant.

As against the normal 14 months time, the refurbishment using both automated method and human skills took only nine months, he added.

The Fuelling machine was a special purpose machine used to handle the fuel and related sub assembles in the Nuclear reactor. Its functions included loading new fuel into the reactor, retrieve partially or fully spent fuel from the reactor and shuffle the partially spent fuel to different positions in reactor core. It consisted mainly of magazine assembly, ram assembly cable control assembly and support frame. The cost of each machine was estimated at Rs.two crore.

The company with a turnover of Rs.141 crore last year had planned to spend Rs.150 crores over the next three years for expanding its operations in Bangalore, Mysore and Pondicherry units.

It was also putting up a 100 per cent export oriented unit for supply of healthcare equipments to the US and Australia, Mr Mani said. Part of the expenditure could be funded through private equity placement or venture capital investment, he said adding that the Company was also looking at the option for going in for a Intial Public Offer The company was also supplying heat pipes for Indian Satellites to Indian Space Research Organisation.

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