Heavy Industries Taxila Heavy Industries Taxila ( abbreviated HIT ) is the backbone of Pakistan ' s engineering industry for the Pakistan Armed Forces , being a combination of multiple industries that has grown into a large military complex since 1980 . It consists of six major production units and their support facilities , staffed by over 6500 workers . About 30 % of the 6500 employees are uniformed military personnel . HIT has facilities for overhaul , rebuild and progressive manufacturing of main battle tanks ( MBT ) , armoured recovery vehicles ( ARV ) , armoured personnel carriers ( APC ) and other armoured vehicles of both eastern and western armoured vehicles . HIT has developed and currently manufactures the Al - Khalid MBT . History . With the growing fleet of T - 59 tanks manufactured by China , the Pakistan Army decided that a facility to maintain and rebuild the tanks was needed . As a result the Heavy Rebuild Foundry Project ( P - 711 ) was conceived , with Chinese assistance and technology . In the late 1970s the Heavy Rebuild Factory ( HRF ) was established in Taxila to undertake rebuild and modernization of tanks . The capabilities of HRF significantly increased with the growing experience acquired in enhancing firepower , mobility and protection of various armoured vehicles . As a result the facility gradually became a multi - factory environment and in September 1992 was renamed Heavy Industries Taxila ( HIT ) . Today the main activities include manufacture of armoured fighting vehicles , armoured personnel carriers and tank guns and in - house manufacture of a wide range of components required . An infrastructure has been established to enhance interaction with the indigenous industries of Pakistan , for the development of materials and components . Facilities . Heavy Industries Taxila comprises various defence factories and facilities : To rebuild and modernize tanks / armoured recovery vehicles of Chinese and Eastern European origin . Heavy Rebuild Factory ( M - Series ) carryies out rebuild of tracked vehicles of US origin . The factory specializes in M113 Series vehicles . The M113 Family of vehicles are manufactured in this factory using CNC machines CAD / CAM system and manufacturing technology on MIG and TIG aluminum welding , radiographic inspection , chemical cleaning , coating and painting according to military specifications . The Gun factory has the capability of machining barrels ranging from 105 mm to 203 mm caliber . It manufactures 105mm gun barrels for upgraded T - 59 & T - 69 tanks . Each barrel is auto - frettaged and subjected to high precision work on state of the art machines . Tank Factory is equipped with modern manufacturing facilities , including 7 - axis CNC machines , for flexible heavy - duty machining operations and a complete infrastructure for hull and turret manufacture . This production facility has been established to provide engineering support to all the factories of HIT . Equipped with CNC machines , it undertakes manufacture of components , assemblies , tools , dies , gauges and arranges development of spare parts through the vendor industry . It also provides repair and maintenance support to machinery and equipment installed in HIT . This is a supporting organization which undertakes Quality Assurance of finished products with quality assurance laboratories which test physical and chemical properties of production materials , calibration facilities are available to ensure accuracy of tools and gauges used in rebuild and manufacturing processes . This complex manufactures sugar plants , cement plants , boilers , cranes , road construction machinery , brick - making machinery and other equipment to cater for the needs of Pakistan Railways and other civilian organisations . HIT has undertaken R & D projects on required basis wherein it has carried out successful R & D in the following areas : HIT Education City . HITEC University was conceived as a part of HIT Education City ( HITEC ) . The city had already established instructional programmes at nursery , school and college levels . The university commenced classes in November , 2007 with an intake of 250 students , in affiliation with University of Engineering and Technology , Taxila . It was granted its own charter in November 2009 by the government of Punjab and is sponsored by the Heavy Industries Taxila Education Welfare Trust ( HITEWT ) .