Utkal Alumina International Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hindalco, operates a massive 2.0 MTPA Alumina refinery in Tikiri, Rayagada, Odisha. The plant runs on advanced technology provided by Rio-Tinto-Alcan, requiring a maintenance partner capable of managing a large-scale workforce while simultaneously driving lean, cost-effective operations.

The Challenge: High-Volume Maintenance and Process Bottlenecks

Managing a refinery of this magnitude involves complex logistics and heavy operational demands.

• Scale of Operations: The requirement called for the deployment and management of a massive workforce exceeding 650 personnel to handle end-to-end Operations & Maintenance.
  
  
• Technical Bottlenecks: Specific maintenance tasks were labor-intensive and hazardous. For instance, the removal of the HRD Tank in the Mud area was a critical bottleneck, traditionally requiring 48 man-hours of manual labor using hammers and chisels.
  
  
• Cost Pressure: The client needed a solution that would not only maintain the plant but also identify process improvements to reduce fixed costs and optimize headcount.

The Hofincons Solution: Innovation and Strategic Manpower

Hofincons implemented a “Lean” operational model, combining flexible staffing with on-the-ground technical innovation.

• Specialized Workforce Deployment: We deployed a structured team of over 650 experts, including 400+ Mechanical, 175+ Electrical, and 100+ Instrumentation technicians, overseen by 25+ managerial staff.
  
  
• Process Re-engineering: To solve the HRD Tank bottleneck, our teams innovated a “Jack Bolt arrangement” to replace the manual hammer and chisel process.
  
  
• On-Demand Expertise: We moved away from a static workforce model to an “On-demand” approach, deploying expert technicians specifically for one-time installations and shutdowns to handle peak loads efficiently.