Client: Hindalco Industries Ltd. Location: Hirakud, Sambalpur, Odisha Executed by: Ecotone Systems Pvt. Ltd. Project Type: Acoustic Enclosure – Office Space
Project Overview
Hindalco Industries Ltd., one of India’s largest aluminium and copper manufacturers, operates a major production facility at Hirakud in Sambalpur, Odisha. Like most heavy industrial plants, the Hirakud unit generates significant ambient noise from rolling mills, compressors, blowers, and other rotating machinery that runs continuously across shifts. This constant noise load made it difficult for the on-site office staff to work in a healthy, focused environment, with sound levels inside the office space regularly exceeding acceptable occupational limits.
To address this, Hindalco engaged Ecotone Systems Pvt. Ltd. to design and execute an acoustic enclosure solution specifically for their office space at the Hirakud facility. The objective was clear: bring down interior noise levels to comfortable, code-compliant standards without disrupting plant operations or requiring a complete structural overhaul of the existing building.
The Challenge
Office spaces located within or adjacent to active industrial zones face a unique acoustics problem. Unlike a standalone control room or a machine enclosure, an office needs to remain a livable, functional workspace — with proper ventilation, natural light where possible, cable routing for IT infrastructure, and easy day-to-day access for employees. At the same time, it needs to be acoustically isolated from continuous low-frequency industrial noise, which is notoriously difficult to attenuate because of its ability to travel through structural elements and minor gaps.
At Hirakud, the ambient noise sources included heavy rolling and processing machinery operating on a near-continuous basis. Sound was entering the office through the building envelope — walls, doors, windows, and ceiling penetrations — as well as through flanking paths like ductwork and cable openings. A generic false ceiling or basic partition system would not have delivered meaningful noise reduction here. The solution needed to combine multiple layers of acoustic treatment engineered specifically for the frequency profile of the noise being generated on-site.
Ecotone’s Engineering Approach
Ecotone Systems approached the Hirakud office enclosure project with a full acoustic assessment before any design work began. This involved measuring existing sound pressure levels at various points within and around the office, identifying the dominant noise frequencies, and mapping the paths through which sound was entering the workspace.
Based on this assessment, Ecotone’s engineering team designed a multi-layer acoustic enclosure system built around the following core elements:
Acoustic Wall Panelling:
High-density, multi-layer acoustic panels were installed along the internal walls of the office. These panels combine sound-absorbing cores with damped outer layers, engineered to reduce both airborne noise transmission and reverberation within the enclosed space.
Acoustic Doors and Windows:
Standard doors and glazing are among the weakest points in any noise-controlled enclosure. Ecotone replaced or retrofitted these openings with acoustic-rated doors and double or triple-glazed acoustic windows, sealed with compression gaskets to eliminate sound leakage at the frame junctions — a detail that is often overlooked but critical to overall enclosure performance.
False Ceiling with Acoustic Treatment:
A suspended acoustic ceiling system was installed to control noise transmission from above and to manage internal reverberation, improving speech intelligibility for the staff working inside.
Sealing of Flanking Paths:
All service penetrations — cable routes, ducting, conduits — were identified and acoustically sealed using appropriate sealants and grommets, since even small unsealed gaps can significantly undermine an otherwise well-designed enclosure.
Ventilation Without Compromise:
Since a sealed enclosure needs adequate air exchange, Ecotone incorporated acoustic louvres and silenced ventilation paths that allow airflow while preventing noise ingress — ensuring the office remained comfortable for extended occupancy without compromising the acoustic performance.
Materials and Standards
Every material selected for the Hirakud project was chosen for its acoustic performance characteristics as well as its suitability for an industrial environment — meaning resistance to dust, humidity, and the general wear associated with a working plant premises. Ecotone’s enclosure systems for projects of this nature are engineered in line with recognized noise control benchmarks, ensuring that the finished space meets both statutory occupational noise exposure norms and the client’s internal comfort expectations.
The design also accounted for long-term maintainability. Acoustic panels and door systems were installed in a manner that allows for inspection and servicing without compromising the seal integrity of the enclosure, which matters in an active industrial facility where downtime for repairs needs to be minimal.
Execution and Site Coordination
Executing an acoustic retrofit inside a live industrial facility comes with its own set of logistical challenges. Work had to be sequenced carefully to avoid disrupting Hindalco’s ongoing plant operations and the daily functioning of the office itself. Ecotone’s site team coordinated closely with Hindalco’s facilities personnel to plan installation phases, manage material movement within a secured industrial premises, and ensure that safety protocols specific to an operational aluminium plant were followed throughout the project.
The installation was carried out in stages to keep the office functional wherever possible, with acoustic treatment completed section by section rather than as a single disruptive shutdown. This phased approach is typical of how Ecotone handles enclosure projects within active industrial sites, where business continuity is as important as the acoustic outcome itself.
Results
Following the completion of the acoustic enclosure, the office space at Hindalco’s Hirakud facility saw a substantial reduction in interior ambient noise levels, bringing the environment well within comfortable working limits despite the continuous operation of heavy machinery just outside. Employees working within the enclosed office reported a noticeably quieter, more focused workspace, with clearer voice communication and reduced fatigue from constant background industrial noise — a common but often underestimated productivity and wellbeing issue in plant-adjacent offices.
Beyond the immediate comfort improvement, the enclosure also supports Hindalco’s broader occupational health and safety compliance objectives by keeping in-office noise exposure within recommended limits for administrative staff working near industrial operations.
Why This Project Reflects Ecotone’s Core Strength
The Hirakud office enclosure is representative of the kind of work Ecotone Systems specializes in: applying serious acoustic engineering to real, occupied industrial spaces rather than offering generic soundproofing add-ons. Every element of the enclosure — from panel selection to door sealing to ventilation design — was driven by actual site measurements and the specific noise profile of the Hirakud facility, not a one-size-fits-all template.
For a client like Hindalco Industries, where plant operations run continuously and cannot be paused for convenience, this kind of precision matters. Ecotone Systems’ ability to deliver a fully functional, code-compliant acoustic enclosure without interrupting production is a large part of why industrial majors across sectors — from metals to automotive to defence-linked manufacturing — continue to trust Ecotone with their noise control requirements.
This project adds to Ecotone Systems’ growing portfolio of acoustic enclosure solutions delivered for large-scale industrial clients across India, reinforcing its position as a specialist manufacturer in acoustic and noise control engineering for heavy industry.
