Immunity Group relies on Life Cycle Services to increase plant production and save costs

Today, Immunity Group believes that going with Metso Life Cycle Service (LCS) was by far the best decision, as the plant availability is 24x7 and quality production was achieved. Experiencing the immense benefits of Metso Life Cycle Services (LCS) and Metso Metrics (one of the offerings under LCS), the group was able to capture approximately 20% of the market share (of total production) in the Kundewahal, Gawand and Jasai regions, near Mumbai. As the main areas where mining was still active after governmental restrictions, these regions became a key source of supply of aggregates to the flourishing Navi Mumbai and to parts of Mumbai.  Immunity Group was able to sell more than 2 lac tonnes of aggregates per month from its plants situated in this region, out of the region’s total supply of 13 lac tonnes. This was possible only because Immunity Group focused its efforts on sales and generating more business, while the production on site was efficiently managed by site engineers with the support of the Metso LCS team that was deployed on site. In addition, the site was remotely managed and controlled by the group heads, using Metso Metrics, which provides real-time data on the plant’s performance and maintenance parameters.

According to Mr. Prashant Thakur, Director, Immunity Group, “Metso LCS and Metso Metrics are innovative techniques that are the product of a lot of research and development by Metso. These solutions are unique and very helpful in improving the productivity and output in a very structured, systematic and scientific manner. Metso LCS is a must-have, as it adds value to your business and increases your profits.” He adds, “As we are sitting in our office, we are able to virtually see our site, we can check the production data, analyze the performance of each piece of equipment, get access to historical data, and even understand why the production was less on a particular day and the prime reason behind the shortfall. This truly is the best available, and we recommend this to everyone in the industry.”

With the help of Metso Life Cycle Services and Metso Metrics, Immunity Group was able to achieve maximum production of -20mm aggregates – 75,200 tonnes in a month, which was by far the highest tonnage they had managed to achieve. The company’s plants were able to seamlessly produce more and more aggregates, and the operating cost at each plant was invariably decreasing.

“After opting for Metso LCS, we initially thought that it was an expensive decision and could dent our profits. But as soon as the operations started with LCS, we noticed a substantial difference in plant operations, consumption patterns, as well as the effective utilization and management of spares, which we believe contributes to the overall savings by reducing operational costs. Our production was enhanced and operational problems were easily handled by Metso experts, while we were able to focus on enhancing our profits,” divulges Mr. Thakur. He adds, “After experiencing Metso LCS and Metso Metrics service, we can clearly state that the notion that Metso LCS is expensive is a misconception. It’s an investment that one puts into their own plant, which in turn gives more output, hence multiplying the profits.”

Metso Metrics, a must for optimizing operational efficiency and managing multiple plants

Immunity Group was able to setup multiple Metso plants, in Maharashtra, over a period of three years. These were in the mining zones outside the Mumbai region, such as Kundewahal, Malegaon, Nanded and Nasik. Managing multiple sites at different locations, especially at remote distances from each other, was a challenge the group had to address. Outsourcing the crushing work to an expert in the crushing field was the only option Immunity Group had, and they entrusted the task to Metso. Mr. Thakur shares, “When we decided to outsource the crushing business, our belief was that Metso was the only one that could handle this effectively. We wanted to focus more on our core business and let Metso handle the production part. After opting for Metso LCS, we concentrated more on our core business, and were able to grow our business in this region.”

“As soon as Immunity Group set up LCS for the two plants located in the Panvel region, we assured Immunity Group 24x7 availability of the plant and that we could surely meet their targeted production. With the two 250tph Metso Rapid™ plants, comprised of a Nordberg® C106™ jaw crusher, Nordberg® GP220™ cone crusher, Barmac crusher B7150SE™ VSI and Metso DS1855 four-deck screen, we were able to deliver approximately 1.5 lac tonnes per month of -20mm aggregates. In order to provide the customer with real-time data at the two plants, Metso Metrics was synchronized with the secondary crusher. With this, the customer was able to remotely manage the plants and even analyze and improve their efforts to maximize production and reduce costs,” shares Mr. Rashmi Ranjan Das, Manager, Service Operation, Metso India.

Metso Metrics is a cloud-based, remote monitoring and data visualization service that provides critical data and insights on a plant’s operational performance and maintenance needs. The benefits of Metso Metrics enable the plant owners to identify the grey areas in their operations and make changes as required so that costs can be controlled. The tool enables remote monitoring of the entire crushing and screening plant along with the measurement of the site equipment’s utilization and production. One can determine well in advance which equipment needs maintenance and which wear and spares must be kept in inventory or ordered.

Mr. Thakur shared, “Metso Metrics provides operational efficiency and lower operating costs to maximize the assets. Our team, deployed on site, can gain all the technical expertise from the Metso team, and the periodic training imparted by the experts to our operations team is helping us to grow in the business.” He adds, “Today, we are serving all the big players in the industry, players like CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation), Navi Mumbai Airport, Mumbai Metro, L&T, Godrej, Shapoorji Pallonji, etc., who directly or indirectly buy aggregates from us. With the quality of the aggregates we have been delivering to date, there have been no complaints – and Immunity has been able to create a name for itself in the region.”

About Immunity Group

Immunity Group has been in the crushing and screening business for more than three years and, right from the beginning, has believed in delivering a quality end-product. Immunity Group has several group companies, including Immunity Infra Pvt Ltd., Immunity Construction Pvt Ltd., Immunity Buildcon Pvt Ltd. & Immunity Enterprises Pvt Ltd. Together the group has six crushing plants in total, and all of them are Metso plants.