The story
BHEL's high-pressure boiler plant at Tiruchirappalli, set up in the 1960s, created a large base of fabrication ancillaries in nearby industrial estates. Small firms supplied coils, headers, structures and machined parts for power-plant boilers across India. The cluster boomed in the 2000s and shrank sharply when thermal-power orders fell. Firms are now looking at defence, railways, oil and gas and renewable-energy fabrication.
In numbers
About a thousand BHEL ancillaries thrived from 2000 to 2010, but only about a hundred survived the downturn and only half of them are currently active (2023).
Order pipeline of BHEL's Tiruchi unit boosts MSME prospects — KNN India (citing Businessline) · 2023The BRAMAS association president said the ancillary base fell from 548 registered units to about 100 still operating.
Trichy's BHEL vendor base falls from 548 units to under 100: BRAMAS — CMR IndiaA Gold Jewellery Cluster common facility centre at Tiruchirappalli is listed as completed under MSE-CDP.
Completed Common Facility Centres under MSE-CDP (as on 22 Mar 2024), Office of DC-MSME · 2024
Ways in for a newcomer
- Fabrication for defence, railways and oil and gas buyers
- Welding inspection, NDT and heat-treatment services
- Structural steel for renewable-energy and process plants
- Machining and tool-room job-work
Problems the cluster faces
- Fall in thermal power boiler orders
- Pan-India tenders and late-delivery penalties
- Delays in steel supply
- Loss of skilled welders after closures
Businesses to start here
Engineering Workshop (Job Work and Repairs) →Precision Sheet Metal Fabrication (Job Shop) →Heat Treatment Job-Work Unit →Steel Castings (Induction Furnace Foundry) →CNC Engineering Workshop (Precision Job Work) →
Sources (4)
- Order pipeline of BHEL's Tiruchi unit boosts MSME prospects — KNN India (citing Businessline)
- Trichy's BHEL vendor base falls from 548 units to under 100: BRAMAS — CMR India
- Tiruchirappalli node — Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor
- Completed Common Facility Centres under MSE-CDP (as on 22 Mar 2024), Office of DC-MSME