History of BHEL
BHEL, a Maharatna Company of Government of India, is an Integrated Power Plant equipment manufacturer and one of the largest engineering and manufacturing companies in India in terms of turnover, ushering in the indigenous Heavy Electrical Equipment industry in India - a dream that has been more than realized with a well-recognized track record of performance.
Presently BHEL has got 16 manufacturing divisions, 02 repair units, 04 regional offices, 08 service centres and 15 regional centres and currently operate at more than 150 project sites across India and abroad. BHEL is engaged in the design, engineering, manufacture, construction, testing, commissioning and servicing of a wide range of products and services for the core sectors of the economy, viz. Power, Transmission, Industry, Transportation (Railway), Renewable Energy, Oil & Gas and Defence.
Led by a vision of India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the plant at Bhopal was established as Heavy Electrical Plant (HEP) Limited in August 1956 with the help of Associated Electricals Limited of UK for the manufacture of heavy electrical equipment. In Nov 1958 the foundation of HE(P) Limited was laid and the factory was dedicated to the nation in Nov 1960. BHEL Bhopal plant is among the oldest heavy electrical equipment manufacturing plants in the country. Its history can be traced back with following milestones:
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 7th Nov 1955 | Agreement between The Govt. of India and Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) of the UK to setup a manufacturing plant |
| 29th Aug 1956 | Heavy Electricals Private Limited (HEPL) registered as a Company in the Public Sector under the Ministry of Industry & Commerce |
| 7th Sep 1956 | The Board of Directors assumed charge on |
| 1st Jan 1974 |
Later HE(P)L was renamed Heavy Electricals (India) Limited (HE(I)L) with the transformation towards the total power-systems approach from the earlier products-based approach. HE(I)L was merged with BHEL, after setup of three more plants ten years ago in 1964 at Tiruchirappalli, Hyderabad and Hardwar as Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited, to create a truly modern global engineering enterprise. |
HEP Bhopal’s business has close linkage with growth of infrastructure & capital goods sectors of the economy. Over time, BHEL’s Bhopal unit has developed state-of-the-art facilities and manufactures wide range of electrical equipment’s. It’s product range includes Hydro, Steam, Marine & Nuclear Turbines, Heat Exchangers, Hydro & Turbo Generators, Transformers, Transportation Equipment, Switchgears, Control gears, Capacitors, Bushings, Electrical Motors, Rectifiers, Oil Drilling Rig Equipment and Diesel Generating sets.
BHEL Bhopal has its own Laboratories for material testing and instrument calibration which are accredited with ISO 17025 by NABL. Enter of Excellence for Hydro Machines, Ultra High Voltage (UHV) laboratory and Centre for Electric Transportation (CET) are the only laboratories of it’s kind in this part of the world.
BHEL Bhopal's strength is its employees. The company continuously invests in Human Resources and pays utmost attention to their needs. Present employee strength of HEP Bhopal is 5031 consisting of 1162 Engineers/Executives, 951 Supervisors, 2747 Artisans and balance as supporting staff.
The plant's Township, well known for its greenery is spread over an area of around 20 sq kms. and provides all facilities to the residents like, parks, community halls, library, shopping centers, banks, post offices etc. Besides, free health services are extended to all the employees through 350 bedded Kasturba Hospital and chain of dispensaries.