The Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited, abbreviated as FACT, is an Indian
central public sector undertaking under the
ownership
Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...
of
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers,
Government of India. It is headquartered in
Kochi,
Kerala. It was incorporated in 1943, by Maharajah Sree
Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma
Sree Padmanabhadasa Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma , popularly known as Sree Chithira Thirunal, was the last ruling Maharaja of the Princely State of Travancore, in southern India until 1949 and later the Titular Maharajah of Travancore ...
of the
Kingdom of Travancore.
It is the first fertiliser manufacturing company in independent
India and also the largest
Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) in
Kerala.
It has 2 production units - Udyogamandal Complex (UC) at
Eloor, Udyogamandal, and Cochin Division (CD) at
Ambalamedu
Ambalamedu is a small township located in Kerala, India. Ambalamedu is located near the border of the former states of Travancore and Cochin and lies on a lake.
History
Ambalamedu is now associated with the Cochin Division of the Fertilisers ...
. In 1947, FACT started production of ammonium sulphate with an installed capacity of 50,000 MT per annum at Udyogamandal near
Kochi. The Caprolactam plant in Udyogamandal was commissioned in 1990. Main products include
Ammonia,
Sulphuric Acid
Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...
, Ammonium Phosphate-Sulphate (FACTAMFOS),
Ammonium Sulphate
Ammonium sulfate (American English and international scientific usage; ammonium sulphate in British English); (NH4)2SO4, is an inorganic salt with a number of commercial uses. The most common use is as a soil fertilizer. It contains 21% nitrogen a ...
, Zincated Ammonium Phosphate,
Caprolactam, and also complex fertilizers.
Gypsum,
Nitric acid,
Soda Ash and coloured Ammonium Sulphate are major by-products.
History
The factory commenced production of
ammonium sulphate
Ammonium sulfate (American English and international scientific usage; ammonium sulphate in British English); (NH4)2SO4, is an inorganic salt with a number of commercial uses. The most common use is as a soil fertilizer. It contains 21% nitrogen a ...
in 1947, at the dawn of
Indian independence using wood as the raw material for production of ammonia. With the effect of time, wood
gasification
Gasification is a process that converts biomass- or fossil fuel-based carbonaceous materials into gases, including as the largest fractions: nitrogen (N2), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), and carbon dioxide (). This is achieved by reacting ...
became uneconomic and was replaced with naphtha reforming process. Through a series of expansion programmes, FACT soon became the producer of a wide range of fertilizers for all crops and all soil types in
India. It became a Kerala State public sector enterprise in 1960 and in 1962, it came under the
Government of India. Diversification to full-fledged engineering services (FEW) in the fertilizer field and allied areas followed. The next major step towards diversification was into petrochemicals.
FACT has formed a joint venture company with
Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited, named FRBL (FACT RCF Building Products Ltd) for manufacturing load-bearing panels and other building products using
phosphogypsum.
References
External links
http://fact.co.in/Latest FACT Jobs
Companies based in Kochi
Fertilizer companies of India
Chemical companies of India
Indian companies established in 1943
Chemical companies established in 1943
Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India
Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange
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