Diversified PSU Balmer Lawrie and Company Limited will be closing down its industrial packaging unit in Kolkata, which was making losses for years because of low demand, from September 1, a top company official said on Saturday.

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All the 40 permanent employees of the unit opted for a separation scheme, Balmer Lawrie chairman and managing director Prabal Basu said.

The closure will help the central PSU save Rs 7-10 crore a year, he said.

The demand for industrial barrels, the main product of the unit, was low and it could not be revived, Basu said.

The main clients were PSU oil refinery companies but their order to Balmer Lawrie has stopped since 2012 following changes in the procurement policy of the government in favour of MSMEs.

"The board decided to close down the unit after making losses for several years. The approval from the government came in July and it will be closed from September 1. A VRS had been floated and all the permanent employees also opted for it," Basu told PTI.

Sources said that there are around 40 more employees attached to the unit, who work under contractors. The unit operates on land taken on lease from the Kolkata Port Trust and it will be surrendered.

The company's other businesses in the city will not be affected by the closure of the industrial packaging unit, they said.

Balmer Lawrie has five other such units in Navi Mumbai, Silvassa, Chittor, Chennai and Vadodara.

The company is also into other verticals such as industrial greases and specialty lubricants, corporate travel and logistics services.

First Published:Aug 22, 2020 7:21 PM IST