It had developed the structure for the PSLV rocket through in–house facilities.

KCP on Friday handed over the PSLV Interstage Structure (IS 1/2L structure) to VSSC-ISRO. The company developed, fabricated and supplied the lengthiest (IS 1/2L) of PSLV rocket through in–house facilities and can deliver subsequent hardware in three months, says a company press release.

M Narayana Rao, President-Unit Head, KCP Heavy Engineering unit, handed over the structure to M Mohan, Deputy Director, VSSC, ISRO, through virtual mode. The contract value is ₹6.28 crore for eight structures, Rao said. The next supply is planned by March 2022, he added.

PSLV IS: 1/2L structure is 2.8m Dia x 4.1m height and made up of light alloy (aluminium), and was built with over 200 components by joining together with riveting. The structure fabrication involves critical tooling and fixturing, forming, heat treatment, machining, assembly and riveting work.

To realise the hardware, KCP has invested and created the required infrastructure like high width rolling, channel bending, cold room, heat treatment and dust-free closure, the release said.

KCP Heavy Engineering unit located at Thiruvottiyur in North Chennai supplies equipment for the core engineering sector (cement, sugar, mineral, power and steel) and the Indian Defence, Space and Nuclear establishments. It provides equipment for rockets, propellant casting and launching facilities and satellite propellant tanks - at every stage of the rocket launch, KCP’s presence is there, the release said.

KCP management is keen to expand its facilities from component manufacturing into system integration in the coming days. The company has invested around ₹6 crore for vertical turning centres, fixtures and tooling. “We are planning to invest Rs 6 crores more for precision machining centre for strategic requirements of Defence, Space and Nuclear jobs,” Rao said.