A campus where birds chirp and machines hum

A campus where birds chirp and machines hum

The Hindu

Green is the philosophy of Bharat Fritz Werner

# The 18-acre Bharat Fritz Werner campus is located on the outskirts of Bangalore
# There are 30,000 trees, a mini-forest area, and a small sanctuary for birds



BEYOND MACHINES: The campus of Bharat Fritz Werner Ltd. on the outskirts of Bangalore

BANGALORE: A gaggle of geese waddling about on the lawns, a group of men taking in the sun one nippy morning as the bottle brush tree spreads a curtain, and little display boards showing the Panda, the WWF mascot, dotting the landscape. Manicured lawns, a little lotus pond, and a tiny temple. Could this be another of those new-fangled resorts that vast stretches of farmland on Bangalore's outskirts have given way to?

Actually, one was being walked through the 18-acre campus of Bharat Fritz Werner Ltd. (BFW), the largest machine tool manufacturer in the private sector in the country.

N.N. Sachitanand, former business correspondent of The Hindu , who is a storehouse of information on the industrial scene in Bangalore, says that in 1961, when the factory was set up in collaboration with Fritz Werner, the vast open spaces in what is Jalahalli-Vidyaranyapura, home to public sector giants such as HMT and BEL, were quite fallow. BFW, which became a part of the Kothari Group in 1966, decided that green would be the colour and philosophy of the factory.

So it was that we struck up a lively discussion on the varieties of aromatic plants that the gardens boasted, about the geese and ways of bringing birds back to Bangalore.

Then, it suddenly struck us that we had walked through the foundry part, where machines were humming softly and there was not a greasy spot on the floor.

Had we stumbled on the secret to keep development green, we wondered as we went out past the foundry to the greenhouse and the orchard where all trees and plants are labelled.

The factory and offices occupy a tiny part of the campus and the rest is something that could easily be mistaken for a botanical garden. One of the senior employees who is interested in all things herbal and botanical has taken up the task of making the campus a place that no one wants to leave, Amitabh Varma, Head, Marketing Services, said.

There's more. There are 30,000 trees, a mini forest area, a mini sanctuary for birds, and several species of rare tropical and sub-tropical plants. When the flowers are in bloom, the BFW premises are a riot of colours. Fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants are also grown. BFW is a recipient of several awards in national horticultural competitions. There is a tiny plot where flowers and plants used for pujas are grown; trees and plants held sacred by Hindus can also be found there.

Here's something to chew on: there are no lawnmowers on the campus. It's the sheep that clip the grass. And while they are about it, they fertilize the grounds. Canteen waste becomes compost, and wastewater is recycled in an enormous dedicated plant.