The Ferro Alloys Corporation Limited (FACOR) was floated in 1955 by the house of Sarafs and Mors to become the first major producer of ferromanganese in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The year 1956, marked the beginning of the Ferro Alloys Corporation Limited at Sriramnagar,

Garividi Garividi mandal is one of the mandals in Vizianagaram district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering a ...

, Vizianagaram district,

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. The founder was Seth Shriman Durgaprasadji Saraf (1911–1988). The registered office is at Tumsar, Bhandara district,

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

Ferroalloy Ferroalloy refers to various alloys of iron with a high proportion of one or more other elements such as manganese (Mn), aluminium (Al), or silicon (Si). They are used in the production of steels and alloys. The alloys impart distinctive qualitie ...

s are used as deoxidizers and alloy additives in the

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

manufacturing process. The ferromanganese plant started production in 1957, equipped with three

furnace A furnace is a structure in which heat is produced with the help of combustion. Furnace may also refer to: Appliances Buildings * Furnace (central heating): a furnace , or a heater or boiler , used to generate heat for buildings * Boiler, used t ...

s for production of high carbon ferromanganese and ferrosilicon. In 1969, a reduction furnace and a slag furnace were commissioned for the production of

ferrochrome Ferrochrome, or ferrochromium (FeCr) is a type of ferroalloy, that is, an alloy of chromium and iron, generally containing 50 to 70% chromium by weight. Ferrochrome is produced by electric arc carbothermic reduction of chromite. Most of the ...

. The company independently, set up a 16 MVA furnace in 1981. FACOR acquired a small steel plant at

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...

. In 1979, FACOR developed the technology to produce charge chrome in their own R&D wing. They have established a charge chrome plant at D.P.Nagar, Randia in Bhadrak district of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

in 1983. It is a 100% Export Oriented Project with a production capacity of 50,000 tons per annum. FACOR signed an agreement with Marc Rich and Co. AG

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, as the sole selling agent of their entire charge chrome output for 10 years. The plants at Sriramnagar have facilities for raw material handling, metal, and slag casting, crushing, sizing and other ancillaries apart from furnaces for the smelting of ferroalloys. The raw materials are manganese ore,

chromite Chromite is a crystalline mineral composed primarily of iron(II) oxide and chromium(III) oxide compounds. It can be represented by the chemical formula of FeCr2O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. The element magnesium can s ...

and

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

ores with principal elements of

manganese Manganese is a chemical element with the symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese is a transition metal with a multifaceted array of industrial alloy use ...

chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...

and

silicon Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic tab ...

respectively. They are obtained from the

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

and

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

states. The Ferro Alloys produced are High Carbon Ferro Chrome, Low Carbon Ferro Chrome, Silicochrome, Silicomanganese, and Magnesium Ferrosilicon, Ferromanganese etc., These alloys are tapped from electric arc furnaces in the molten state. They are prepared to the required size from 25 mm to 150 mm and transported to the various steel companies. The furnaces are connected to Two-stage venturi scrubber systems to maintain a clean environment in and around the production area. FACOR has been accredited under ISO 9001:2000. The existing manpower at Sriramnagar is about 784 regular employees with 107 supervisory personnel, besides 1070 contract workmen. In 2003, the charge chrome division along with the mining division in Odisha has been demerged as FACOR STEELS Ltd and the Ferro Alloys division at Garividi as FACOR ALLOYS Ltd.

References

{{coord missing, Maharashtra Buildings and structures in Vizianagaram district Bhandara district Companies based in Nagpur Manufacturing companies established in 1955 Steel companies of India Indian companies established in 1955 1955 establishments in Bombay State Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange