TAKRAF India has completed the refurbishment of a bucket-wheel excavator (BWE 1422) for NLC India Limited (NLCIL), marking the third of four orders awarded to the company in July 2024. The equipment was successfully recommissioned on 18 July 2025 following a 12-month overhaul.
The BWE 1422, originally commissioned in 1992 for overburden removal at NLCIL’s Mine II in Neyveli, Tamil Nadu, has a 1,400-litre bucket capacity and has logged over 150,000 working hours during its 33-year lifecycle. The refurbishment replaced critical structural and mechanical components to extend the machine’s operational life by an estimated 15 years.
The upgrade included structural stability checks, the installation of a programmable logic controller (PLC), variable voltage variable frequency (VVVF) drives, a human–machine interface (HMI), an automatic fire detection system (AFDS), and wireless systems. TAKRAF stated that these upgrades were carried out in compliance with design and manufacturing safety norms.
The recommissioning ceremony was attended by Prasanna Kumar Motupalli, Chairman and Managing Director of NLCIL; Suresh Chandra Suman, Director of Mines; Samir Swarup, Director of HR; M. Venkatachalam, Director of Power; and Rajagopalan Ramanathan, Managing Director of TAKRAF India.
“This revamp project for NLCIL is the third consecutive order from NLCIL for TAKRAF India, reflecting our strength, supported by TAKRAF Germany. It’s a testament to the value we place on cross-functional teamwork and delivering solutions tailored to specific project requirements. We sincerely thank NLCIL for the continued trust and successful collaboration,” said Rajagopalan Ramanathan, Managing Director of TAKRAF India.
NLCIL, incorporated in 1956, is a government-owned enterprise engaged in lignite mining and power generation. It operates three open-pit mines with a total installed capacity of 28.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) at Neyveli in Tamil Nadu.
TAKRAF Group, through its Indian subsidiary, specialises in providing mining solutions, including the design, construction, and refurbishment of specialised mining equipment.
