IEEE Student Branch, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam

Industrial Visit to HNL 02 Feb 2013

IEEE Student Branch Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam

Industrial Visit to HNL

Date: 02 Feb 2013
No. of participants: 58
No. of Student Branches
Participated: 1
Category: Technical

IEEE Student Branch, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam conducted an industrial
visit to Hindustan Newsprints Ltd. It marked a number of 50 student participants for this one
day industrial event. As part of the curriculum, the 3rd year students were in need of an
industrial visit when this was organized; hence the participants were majority S6 students of
Electrical and Electronics department. Students of Semester Four were also there, eager to
roll on their firsts of their industrial visits. The overall crowd included Second, Third year
B.tech Students, M.tech students, faculty and some family members. The college bus started
off as arranged, from the campus at 7:15 AM hoping to reach the company site on time
including a halt at Ettumanoor. A Traveller was arranged for the faculty members and was
directed to stick together with the main bus. Some students boarded at Kottayam other at
Ettumanoor where the Indian Coffee house became the breakfast point. Half an hour of
morning coffee, masala dosas and puris the breakfast session seemed delightful, not to
mention the brief pose „n clicks which made it more enjoyable. All the way to Veloor the bus
was filled with fun and music. Anthakshari with boys girls rivalry which was the most popular
time pass among these kind of trips brought out the utmost fun along with wonderful songs.

Hindustan Newsprint Limited Is located at Velloor in Kottayam District and is a Government

of India (Central Public Sector) Enterprise. HNL was established on June 07, 1983 as a
subsidiary of the Hindustan Paper Corporation limited (HPC). It was as the result of the
Kerala Newsprints Project undertook back in 1960‟s. HNL produces quality newsprint for the
Indian and International market, which is comparable with that of the global market. The
company has an installed capacity of 1, 00,000 MT per annum for producing 49 & 45 GSM
newsprints. HNL is recognized with many awards and certification including ISO 9002 which
was awarded in 1998 and many more. The company has been providing major job
opportunities ever since its establishment. The site is located at Veloor gate opening at the
newsprints road. From Kottayam its 35 Km and 1 Hr. travel by road. The team reached the
site by 9:30 AM and was directed to the second gate where the students got off the bus.

The instructions at the gate read “Photography Strictly Prohibited” and obviously cameras or
mobile phones were not allowed inside. Security at the gate was tight; every person was
checked while letting in. The whole site had these sparkling architectures from the entrance
arch to those high factory buildings. Right in front of the first department we were headed
there was a „brick twister arch‟ that glowed in its architectural perfection. Also the site had its

IEEE Student Branch, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam

 IEEE Student Branch, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam
Industrial Visit to HNL 02 Feb 2013

value to its foliage and trees; it had large grass beds then the bushes and some Bogan villa
pots made the edges. The team was divided into two and a guide accompanied each team
for the tour. With an interesting general info session with Mr. Mathew and one of the team
guides we set out for the tour. Mr. Thampi was the one with the other team. The paper
making process is simple in words but hard on practice. Chipped wood is made into pulp
after long processes of powdering boiling and squashing. The all the equipment used, even
the capacity of the drives employed was addressed along the session. After making the way
through some noisy, dusty and watery passageways we got to tracks by the chipper house.
Crane lifters, railings, conveyer belts, metal passage grids along with the above mentioned
mess; all gave the real feel of the factory, like the ones seen in the chaotic Hollywood
movies. Safety was a big concern though; all workers wore helmets and safety shoes with the
grey shirts and black pants uniform. Earplugs were provided to them for protection from the
noise. All the way over some conveyer belts which carry wood logs in and take out chipped
wood was thrilling yet troubling because of the dust in the whole place which kept the
handkerchiefs busy. The wood logs from the storage unit is brought here and with the
conveyer belts passed along to the chipping section where twister blades powered by high
power induction motors chop them into small pieces. All types of wood could be seen
passed to the noisy „chopping pit‟ which came from the storage where we dropped in later.
The paper quality varied with the type of wood used. Bamboo and other hardwood went to
the high quality section where softwoods to the other and are processed separately.
Dropping by the storage facility we could see that the carriage of wood logs and Coal to the
respective sections of the factory is done by rail. Even there were functional signal lights
indicating whether the rail lines were busy.

The generating station of HNL was the next stop. The company produces power on its own,
not for the entire processes but enough to get its machines moving at times when the power
from the supply gets scarce. Also they have a control unit which synchronizes the produced
electricity with the KSEB‟s power grid. In simple words they take as well as they give power.
The 15 MVA turbo generator is driven by the high pressure steam from the boilers. The mini
thermal power plant inside the factory is capable of producing as much power to run the
entire company on its own though, synchronized power is considered more constructive to
be utilized. The air conditioned control rooms were visited where the synchronization of the
alternators was demonstrated in live along with their computerized power management
systems. Metal boxes, control knobs, indicating lamps, switches, number displays etc. all in
this room reminded those Spielberg movie climaxes; was exciting and distinctly informative.
The officers including the ACE, who was present there, were quite helpful, they were happy
to explain things to us and clear our doubts. Later the tour led to the pulp making area
where we saw the synchronous motor triad chain coupled to the rollers on the upper floor
which were used for the pulping process. A quick conference was called for teachers and the
officials of the company to discuss the Institution Industry interaction. Student projects to
the company were invited while the faculty discussed about organizing seminars at the
college which would get the students more close to Industrial applications.

IEEE Student Branch, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam

 IEEE Student Branch, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam
Industrial Visit to HNL 02 Feb 2013

Lunch was arranged in a nearby restaurant named Anandhabavan. We left the campus at
1:30 PM to get in back in by 2:30. After the lunch we got enough walking around time and
find the HNL hospital nearby. The fact that most of the causalities came in here was from the
factory was bit disturbing. Drinks we brought, from the super market just the opposite of the
restaurant cooled of the hot sun. Back to the factory by 2:30 PM we went straight to the
paper making section of the factory. Here is where the final process of papermaking takes
place. Fully prepared pulp is heated when passed along the heated rollers where the
additional water content is evaporated and dry paper is obtained on the other side. These
rollers filled an entire block with three levels high. During the process here, unlike any other
the workers were extra cautious and restless. The stray paper strips coming out through the
rollers were often cleared off by pressurized air jet. These waste papers go to the recycling.
Large roll of finished paper could be seen which was ready to be cut and packed. In the next
section these heavy rolls where lifted by the crane and placed into the cut machine where it
is unrolled cut in various sizes rerolled and packed.

The day at HNL came to an end by 3:45 PM at the paper drying section. The whole day went
quite interesting as the industrial visit to this place was one of its kind. It was not only a
technical jaunt but also a fun filled outing which proved to be a good experience to all who
were on it. The Final Group Photo made the lasts of the souvenirs to the trip. The Bus
reached the campus back at 5:30 PM

Soanz Augustine
s4 Electrical and Electronics
Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam

IEEE Student Branch, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam