Madras Aluminium Company Limited

Madras Aluminium Company Limited (later changed to MALCO) is an integrated Aluminium manufacturing company incorporated in 1960 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu in India. The plant is located in Mettur in Salem district. During its heyday it was the only fully integrated primary Aluminium Metal complex in the entire South India with its own captive mining, refining, smelting and power generation operations. Since 2000 the company is part of London-based Vedanta Resources and is now mainly into power generation.^[1][2]

History

The company was incorporated in 1960 and started operated in 1965 with technical and financial collaboration with Montecatini of Italy. The founders were Coimbatore based industrialists, P. R. Ramakrishnan a graduate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his brother R. Venkateswamy Naidu.^[3][4][5][6]

Operations

The plant was located in Mettur with close proximity to Mettur Dam, an industrial town with heavy industries in Salem district in Tamil Nadu state. When formed, MALCO formed was the only Aluminuium Metal complex plant in the entire South India with its own captive mining from bauxite reserves of Sheveroy Hills and had fully commissioned refining, smelting and power generation operations. The Company manufactures aluminium ingots, special alloys and rolled products for consumption by other industries in India. Since late 70’s the company diversified into continuous sheet extraction and Alumina.

under Vedanta Group

Due to vagaries of power supply by the state electricity board at various times, the unit became sick and the suspended operations for three years from 1992 to 1995 BIFR sanctioned a rehabilitation scheme and MALCO was taken over by the Vedanta group in 1995. MALCO now has a state-of-the-art, coal-based Captive Power Plant commissioned in the year 1999. And since 2004 the smelter capacity has been increased from earlier 25,000TPA to 40,000TPA.

Facilities

Since the plant was built in early 60’s in a small rural town, the MALCO management established a school, staff and employee’s colony and a hospital which still functions today.

References