History
Pakistan Ordnance Factories is situated 40 kilometres away from Islamabad near a centre of Gandhara culture, Taxila at a place called ‘WAH Cantonment’. It is the largest defence industry in Pakistan. During the Second World War, Britain established 12 arms manufacturing factories in the subcontinent to fulfil their need for eastern war front. All those factories were situated in areas, that became part of India after independence and there was no defence industry in Pakistan at that time.
The Government of Pakistan realised the importance of security needs and felt the importance of being self-sufficient in production of arms and ammunition. The second Prime Minister of Pakistan, Khawaja Nazimuddin laid the foundation of Pakistan Ordnance Factories in WAH Cantt on 28thDecember 1951.
By the end of the 50’s, POF was producing arms and ammunition on very limited scale. It however, progressed very well and today it has become a great defence organization running 20 industries. Fourteen of these units are solely for the purpose of defence products while 6 units are working as subsidiaries where more than 26 thousand workers are making their worthwhile contribution to the defence of Pakistan.
Organizational Structure
POF is working under an independent board, which is headed by a serving Lieutenant Generalof Pak Army. However, one Finance Adviser who represents Finance Ministry and two technical members are POF officers. Other than this, member corporate and member ministerial is also part of the POF Board. Head of each factory is called Managing Director or General Manager and who is responsible of all financial issues, quality control, human resource and inventory management. Defence units and sub organizations of POF produce more than 60 products for national defensive needs. These defence units includes weapons factory, machine gun factory, small arms and ammunition factory, artillery ammunition factory, tank or anti-tank ammunition factory, bombs and grenade factory, brass mill and garments factory. The WAH group of Companies and High Tech Plastics are key subsidiaries of POF.
POF Vision
The vision that runs through the creation of POF is provision of arms and ammunition to Pakistan’s defence forces in war and peace times. The surplus production capacity is used for civilian and export purposes. Running the organization on commercial lines is also part of its vision.
POF Products and their Quality
POF boasts a wide range of products which includes automatic rifle, light medium and heavy machine gun, anti-aircraft weapons, aircraft bombs, shoulder fire rocket, multi-barrel rockets and hand grenades, packing material and plastic products. In addition, different types of commercial explosives, dynamites and detonators etc. are also included its product range. POF upholds stringent quality benchmarks, which is hallmark of all its products. All POF production units and their subsidiaries hold ISO 9001 and 2000, ISO 14001 Health and Environmental Standards, ISO 17025 Standards and OHSAS-18001 Lab Safety Standards certifications.
New POF Products
Like any other defence organization, it is imperative for POF to keep pace with the war and security dynamics. That is why the Research and Development Department of POF is constantly striving for the next best. In this connection, recent years have seen POF make several improvements and additions in its product range. Among these, improvement in G-3 rifle, more accurate 7.62 ammunition, POF EYE, 37 mm ammunition, 9mm pistol, SPG 9 and improved version of RPG-7 are worth mentioning.
Exports
POF is utilizing its additional production capability to export its products to over 40 countries. This not only yields precious foreign exchange but also makes worthwhile contribution to national economy. In addition to this, POF is a regular participant in defence exhibitions, which is being instrumental in increasing the exports of its products.
Future Targets
Today as the global defence industry becomes more and more competitive, POF is also modernizing its products by employing skilled workforce and latest technology. The current management of POF is not only aware of the changing global trends but it is also taking practical steps to ensure the organization remains up to date with the same. In this respect, POF is following a policy of self-reliance in order to embrace the modern trends of the 21st century to continue production of quality arms and ammunitions on a permanent basis.
POF and Social Responsibility
Besides defence production, POF is also playing an admirable role as a responsible corporate citizen. Specifically, POF’s role in promoting quality health, education, entertainment and sports is worth mentioning. Alhamdolillah! POF can also be credited with efforts that have resulted in 98% literacy rate in WAH Cantt, which is testament to the POF vision of providing quality educational facilities. Public and private educational institutions in POF are playing a great role in this regard. These institutions, including University of WAH, Engineering College, Medical College, 93 Schools, 17 Colleges and schools for special children under the name of “Nasheman”, are providing quality education to the residents of WAH.
In addition a 500-bed modern hospital with its 18 specialised departments is providing quality health care to POF employees and their families. International standard sports activities are also being provided for POF employees and their children. These include; an international standard indoor stadium, squash complex, gymnasium, two cricket grounds and swimming pools. Moreover, the beautiful and vast public parks located in WAH Cantt are counted among the best in Pakistan. Simply put, POF is an industrial organisation that has not only contributed notably towards the defence capabilities of the country but has also created an exemplary society.
May Allah enable us to serve this country and to play our role in its progress. Ameen!n