RIL’s Converts its Newly Acquired Alok Industries to Supply Affordable PPE Kits to the Indian Government

In its bid to contribute to the country’s battle against COVID-19, Reliance Industries has turned its newly acquired Alok Industries into a PPE manufacturer. The produced PPE kits would be made available to the domestic market at one-third the cost of the ones imported from China. Reliance Industries Ltd, which acquired integrated textile manufacturer Alok Industries last year, has re-engineered the Industries’ manufacturing facility located in Silvassa, Gujarat for exclusively manufacturing the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits, which are essentially used by the medical personnel treating COVID-19 patients. The petrochemical giant has deployed new tailoring resources of nearly 10,000 people for manufacturing the PPE zip-zap suits which ensure full body protection and comply with the ISO and BIS standards.  The converted unit can produce more than 1 lakh PPE kits per day that are being sold to the government at a cost of INR 650 per unit, much cheaper than the imported kits which are being priced at INR 2,000 per unit. RIL is ensuring adequate supply of high- grade Polypropylene for manufacturing the equipment with better opacity and light-weight characteristics. For improved sterilization, Ethylene Oxide is also added to the manufactured material. Reliance Industries had acquired 37.7% stake in Alok Industries Ltd for INR 250 Crore in February this year that was auctioned under the insolvency and bankruptcy law by SBI to recover unpaid loans.