Public sector enterprise FACT is geared up to start fertiliser distribution in the post-Covid days, thanks to the availability of rail wagons and a marked progress in road connectivity.

Kishor Rungta, Chairman and Managing Director, FACT, said the company restarted production at its Udyogamandal plant from the second week of April after some easing of the lockdown. The Covid threat forced curtailment of production in the second half of March because of the limitations in bagging/loading crew and availability of trucks and wagon for cargo movement. This has partially affected the overall performance during March-April, he said.

However, FACT could manage its operations without much impact with optimum management of its available resources such as manpower, machinery and materials. Being an off-season time for fertiliser, he said, the company is maintaining its production and dispatch at about 50 per cent of its capacity.

Meanwhile, the company has maintained record fertiliser production in the last fiscal with a sale of 11.17 lakh tonnes, which is the best in 18 years. Of this, Factamfos registered the highest ever production of 8.44 lakh tonnes, while ammonium sulphate stood at 2.21 lakh tonnes, a record in 19 years.

The sales turnover has posted a quantum jump of 40 per cent over last year at ₹2,750 crore, he said, adding that the financial figures are being finalised.

The annual maintenance activities planned for April were partially affected, as the major OEM contractors could not travel to Kochi. The company has utilised its technical manpower to address the essential maintenance activities, he said.

Caprolactam operations

The Covid situation has also hit plans to restart commercial production of caprolactam, which was scheduled for May. The company could not complete the essential maintenance activities during March and April before the commencement of production. There was a delay in joining of essential manpower and their training for caprolactam operations. However, production is expected to start by August, the CMD said.

To a question, he said the company is continuing with its marketing activities in the northern and eastern parts of the country. “We have already entered the markets of West Bengal and Maharashtra. Odisha and Gujrat are the next targets during the year,” he said.

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