Jamshedpur, Dec. 26: Ranjit Singh, an employee of the Indian Steel and Wire Products (ISWP) Limited, could not hold back his tears when he stepped inside the company this morning in the bright winter sunshine.
Cheered by his old colleagues, whom he had not seen since he left for his native place in Punjab in 1999 as the company closed, Singh became emotional.
The near-dilapidated plant suddenly sprung into life as the rusty machines started rolling after five silent years.
There was an air of jubilation as the workers trooped into the works this morning. About 660 employees of the company resumed duties in their respective departments after a gap of almost five years, since the closure of the company in 1999.
The employees, right from the senior to the junior level, lent a hand for maintenance work on the first day.
“We had given up hope of the revival of the company and were engaged in small time job to maintain our family. But, now the revival of the company has given us a fresh lease of life,” said R. Ranjarajan, en employee.
Chief executive officer of the company N.K. Punwani, during a meeting with the union representatives yesterday, appealed to the employees to join their duties from today.
“The employees are present in full strength and are happy with the recent takeover of the company by Tata Steel,” said a senior company official.
President of Wire Products Labour Union (WPLU) Rakeshwar Pandey said efforts are being made to start production at the wire mill and nut bolt division (also known as fastner division) from January 1.
According to Pandey, it will take at least two months to start production at the company’s rod mill which was partially damaged during a recent fire inside the works.
The union members said Tata Steel managing director B. Muthuraman, who played a pivotal role in reviving ISWP would visit the works on January 1 to take stock of the condition of the plant and machinery.
Company sources said the newly-constituted board of ISWP has drawn up a plan to invest about Rs 38 crore in the initial phase. A major portion of the money would be utilised for repair and maintenance of the plant.
Tata Steel stepped in to take over ISWP after all efforts by the previous owner to revive it failed. The previous owner of the company was reluctant to let it go and had even moved court. But the legal scales tilted in favour of Tata.
