Ever heard of Pugalur? That's where the state government-owned Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Papers (TNPL) has the country's largest bagasse-based newsprint plant. The 2.3 lakh tonnes per annum unit will soon expand capacity by another 1 lakh tonnes. That should make it the largest plant of its type in the world.
Apart from the satisfaction of working in a global-scale company, TNPL employees get something more tangible: continuous training. Says chairman and managing director P. Rama Mohana Rao: "Whenever we install new equipment, the budget also includes a training budget." Training in TNPL is a continuous process and involves everybody from the juniormost employees to the directors and covers everything from technology and management to personality development. At any time of the year, some of its 1,788 employees are in some training programme or the other. Plus, employees across the spectrum are given exposure to the functioning of other paper companies.

Training, tolerance for mistakes and social responsibility. That about sums up the TNPL culture. When an employee makes a mistake, it is pointed out to him and he is shown how he can avoid such lapses.

TNPL is a socially responsible company. It has formed a society to grow sugarcane on 1,600 acres near the plant. That gives employment to the people and raw material to TNPL. Also, water from the effluent treatment plant is provided to the farmers. That apart, TNPL uses tankers to provide water to 25 villages surrounding the plant.

Today, TNPL is exporting paper to Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Nigeria and Malaysia. This year the export target is 36,000 tonnes, up from 26,000 tonnes last year. A target that will likely be met, if TNPL's commitment to employees is anything to go by.