Subhasis Mohanty, Managing Director Normet India Private Limited and VP Sales Area India. discusses Normet’s expansion goals. Normet India has an equipment facility for local products, a service centre, and chemical manufacturing units in various sections of the nation.

What is Normet’s take on sustainability?
The requirement for sustainability in the mining and tunnelling industry environment is increasing, and Normet is already at the forefront of supporting the change. Our goal is to exceed mining and tunnelling industry standards and, by doing that, set an example for others. We do this by continuously developing and introducing new sustainable and safe solutions. To mention a few: extending the life of our equipment through remanufacturing; introducing battery electric vehicles to eliminate carbon emissions; optimising our current processes to improve energy efficiency; and much more.

What are Normet India’s initiatives to meet the sustainable development goals of the Normet Group?
Normet Group strongly believes in the triple bottom line approach in business and is committed to its sustainability goals for all its stakeholders. In India, we have identified 11 priorities covering all ESG pillars, such as carbon emissions, energy efficiency, circularity, employee engagement, diversity, and community involvement. As part of the sustainable development goal, Normet India has been involved in corporate social responsibility activities wherein we have adopted schools in Jaipur and the outskirts of Udaipur; engaged in activities around sustainable development of villages in Maharashtra; supported orphaned children in Kolkata; and associated with agencies involved in overall social upliftment of the downtrodden.

Please tell us about Normet’s Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) initiative in India.
Normet’s BEVs, popularly known as Normet SmartDrive, enable zero local emissions, lower heat generation, very low noise level (80 percent), lower operational costs (maintenance), increased tramming speed, and overall higher productivity.

Recognising the importance of reducing carbon emissions in underground mining and tunnelling, Normet has manufactured and introduced Battery Electric Vehicles (Normet SmartDrive) to the market since 2018. In India, we are among the front runners in the underground space, making BEVs an enabler towards decarbonisation. We have partnered with Hindustan Zinc on Green Mining goals, which are equally focused on sustainability objectives. We are also actively promoting BEVs in the tunnelling industry for their adoption.

What is the future of Normet in India?
Normet has grown and is poised for exponential growth in the coming years in a sustainable manner to withstand any external risks and uncertainties. We are a customer-centric company and work with our customers to understand their needs and offer the right product with solid aftermarket support.

Regarding investments, Normet India has an equipment plant for local products, a service centre and chemical manufacturing plants in different parts of the country. However, to further support the ‘Make in India’ initiative, Normet is investing in India with its upcoming Centre of Excellence in Jaipur. Once operational, the Centre of Excellence in Jaipur will be the world’s largest greenfield project for Normet. The facility will be home to equipment manufacturing plant that will cater to local and global requirements, a global service centre, a dedicated international R&D centre, and a modern training centre for our employees and operators.