Farm Steel plans foray into general engineering goods

City-based Farm Steel Products, a maker of farm equipment, oil tanks and storage tanks, is planning to foray into the manufacture of general engineering goods next year. The company reported a turnover of Rs 1.2 crore for the financial year 2003-04.

Farm Steel managing director Y Radhakrishna told Business Standard that the company faced severe competition from the companies in the north.

He alleged that the north Indian companies were illegally selling their goods in the state. However, the company had been withstanding the competition by expanding its product basket.

Over the last two years, it has forayed into the manufacture of new equipment ranging from tractor-trailers, cultivators and ploughs and other farm equipment to tanks for oil and cement storage and mini dal mills etc, he said.

He said the company manufactured 180 oil tanks, 20 cement tanks and a few mini dal mills during 2003-04. The company secured necessary technical expertise from Centre for Food Technology and Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, for constructing mini dal mills.

It made electric furnaces for FCB-KCP units based in Srikalahasti and Vietnam. It also undertook general engineering works like plate bending for major companies like Liners India and Bharat India.

The oil tanks manufactured by Farm Steels are supplied to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Indo-Pharma and others. Farm Steel also supplies cement tanks to truck operators transporting cement to Birla group's asbestos factories at Kondapalli and Hyderabad.

Radhakrishna accused the commercial tax department and its checkposts of harassing genuine industrialists.

"While unauthorised goods worth thousands of crores of rupees openly enter the local markets (without bills) every day, those industrialists possessing necessary papers and paying taxes face difficulties in transportation of goods to and from their factories. Corrupt officials are creating obstacles for them at every stage," he said.

Citing an instance, he said HPCL had given a movement certificate for a batch of tanks manufactured by Farm Steel. Despite the company producing the HPCL certificate and weigh bills, the checkpost staff did not release the trucks and delayed the shipment.