Archives: Employee Stories

Out of comfort zone!

I would say life changed completely for me the moment I joined college for pursuing engineering. Four years in college hostel were enough for me to get over all the inhibitions (seniors did play some part in my ‘grooming’!). Some of my strengths looked weak while some flaws, were my assets. So, when my first Manager in Thermax asked me to go and join Hyderabad regional office, I did not even bother to ask if I could be posted at any other location.

Today, when I look back, I think my first job posting proved to be a blessing in disguise. My Boss at Hyderabad set forth expectations which, at the first instance, seemed to be absurd and out of the world. As part of the sales team, I was supposed to meet at least two customers per day (which was fine). The unusual part however was that I was supposed to know and find out almost everything about the key decisionmaker (after interacting with him/her) in that company. This meant more frequent meetings, visits, and cross referencing with other sales teams.

Once, in order to hold a fruitful conversation with a key decision-maker, I had to read a lot about history of Tennis at Wimbledon. The effect of this hard work (in 1993, there was no internet for quick referencing), was amazing. The decisionmaker invited me to his senior’s tennis tournament, and I bagged few more contacts. In the process, we not only won that order but also were able to build a strong long-term relationship with the group. I feel improving personal connect also helps to avoid most dangerous sales trap – overselling/mis-selling. When you know that you must face the decisionmaker again, and your personal credibility is at stake, you tend to put in extra hours to ensure that “what you sell is perceived to be the ‘best’ solution.

The time spent at Hyderabad made me confident that I can adapt to new things. As luck would have it, there came an opportunity in Indonesia office and without hesitation, I affirmed it! My parents were bit apprehensive about my relocation plans to Indonesia, but I managed to convince them that it is not permanent relocation and that I would be back home in few days.

All such movements early in my career, helped me to get wider exposure in a relatively short span of time. During my Indonesia stint, initially I was the only person with technical background for Absorption Chillers. At times, I also doubled up as a service engineer. Little did I know at that time, that this experience of a service engineer at site would help me later after 15 years, when I was the SBU Head for Absorption Cooling division to set expectations, and review design improvements by additional yardstick of serviceability at site.

These early enriching experiences helped me substantially to get over any kind of insecurity associated with a ‘change’. This, I believe, is another behavioural skill that a professional must develop. Today, competency of “adapting to change” may even be rated higher than some other important skills.

During the initial 15 years of my career, I was never based at one location for more than 3 years. The journey which started with Heat Recovery Division of Thermax, has taken me to eight locations and through six different SBU/BU of Thermax in different roles. In this journey, I have survived fifteen different bosses, and to be honest, they all pushed me to the brink which I now realize helped me become more skilled, more mature, and more open-minded. They have provided a more holistic experience through exposure to different functions and contexts. My Managers haven’t just talked about mobility, but “walked the talk” when they let me go places and SBU/BU’s.

The most important part of the “Let Go” aspect is when you facilitate your best team member to take up something else in another function/ SBU. We know, as a Manager, we will have to work hard, re-train someone else and spend more time ourselves to control things. It may consume considerable bandwidth till the new role-holder attains the expected expertise level. It is the hardest moment for any Manager. But it is also our gift to that individual. It is also a gift to the existing team that a new member, with new thinking, is likely to make the team more diverse over a period of time.

I consider myself the most fortunate, thanking all my Managers, who graciously allowed me to ‘move’ and transition out of my ‘comfort zone’.

– Shekhar Kashalikar
Executive Council Member and SBU Head OEM, TBWES

Who cares about the food anyway?

It’s a warm evening in the 90’s. After much deliberation, the family has finally decided to go to this quaint restaurant for the anniversary. Though humble, it is always crowded because of the great food that they serve. The menu is a double-page – starters, main course and a small section of desserts. And you still didn’t have to take a look at it, because you always ordered the same dish. Cut to 20 years later. It’s 2019. You are rich now and have some extra money to spend. The dining experience has gone through a tornado. Starters are now called several names – appetisers, entrees, mezes, tapas. The main course doesn’t exist because roti-sabzi is too bucolic. There are five different menus for every course of your meal and the names have suddenly become unrecognisable. There’s a cycle hanging from the ceiling and the waiter is wearing an animal costume. Feel dizzy already?

The survival of the fittest has also forced restaurants to go through a great transformation. What sells in a restaurant is no more food, but the ambience. With the advent of social media, the world has become or at least tried very hard to become Instagramable. Restaurants are known by their Unique Selling Theme that they incorporate. They come out with themes that are sometimes borderline crazy (there’s a restaurant where you can pay to have the experience of eating food in a prison facility!) It seems like these places compete to make their naïve customers as awkward as possible. The lighting at the entrance is so dim that you can easily bump into some of their weird showpieces. The seating ranges from slightly uncomfortable khaats to backbreaking designer stools. There will always be some loud international music playing, which honestly no one enjoys. Their creativity is especially at its zenith while making GentsLadies signs in washrooms. My grandfather once went to a ladies washroom because the sign said ‘squat to pee’.

This apparently is the age of language truncation. People want brevity. Gulabjams have become G-jams and chola bhaturas are C-bhats. Such is not the case with these restaurants. They will take the liberty to describe different shades of the same gravy by attaching them to random places and things. The same old aloo-baingan is now stir fried aubergines with baked potatoes, pickled cherry tomatoes and a dash of cilantro. The menus are so elaborate these days that there should be an internet challenge which makes you read through an entire menu without being distracted by your phone. I’m sure it would take lesser time to read this article than it takes to select a dish for your dinner.

All this flamboyance and yet you would not be content. At least if you go to eat food, you wouldn’t be. These restaurants invest so much on the décor that they overlook hiring decent chefs to cook good food. You will never find conventional dishes because they had to make way for missal pav fondue and gajar halwa cheesecake. The colours on the dish would be amazing, the plating would be exquisite, but the portion would be microscopic, and you’ll realise your mom’s tindas tasted better than this heavily priced plat de nourriture.

And even after all this whining, this Friday I’ll be dining at some restaurant that is textbook hipster. I won’t care if I like it. It’s more important that my online friends do. As long as my photos look good, I don’t care a bit about how it is affecting my budget. All that matters is that the place looks just as dazzling as my online life. After all, who cares about the food anyway?!

– Akshay Raje
Chemical Division

2020 – A year of new relationships

The comment I hear from most from my acquaintances on learning that I have joined Thermax during the COVID pandemic is, “working remotely for a new company must make it very difficult for you to settle in.” My first few months with Thermax, in contrast to what may be expected, have been anything but difficult. For this, I have Unny to thank more than anyone else. My first meeting with Unny was at Meher’s house where we spent 5 hours together and time just flew by. From that moment on, Unny has guided me through the ropes and helped me understand the company through his perspective. Unny loves Thermax in every sense of the word. His connect with people, his knowledge of the business, and his achievements – they all speak for themselves. Through all his incredible personality traits, his humbleness shines a bright light on the person that has been a steady hand at the helm of Thermax.

I, along with all Thermaxians, look forward to the opportunity for taking Thermax forward in the next leg of the company’s growth journey. As we walk down a new path, there is strength to be derived, along with a deep sense of responsibility, from the foundation that Unny bequeaths us. Even during the uncertain times of 2020, Thermax has a very healthy treasury and a strong balance sheet, and more importantly, Thermax enjoys immense goodwill from its employees and its customers. Any incoming leader would consider himself (or herself) to be extremely fortunate to have this springboard available. I know that I will constantly reach out to Unny for a long time to come for his sound advice and direction.

This volume of “Fireside” will surely stand the test of time and years from now, COVID will likely be nothing more than a memory for many of us that have lived through this incredible year. For me, this has been a year full of change – a new city, a new job, a new team, a new company. Despite it all, I know that I will look back at this year fondly because of the opportunity to form new relationships. Unny has been like an ideal elder brother as he has watched me stumble through my first few weeks, steadying me constantly with his sage advice. As Unny moves to a stage that encompasses all of India, I wish him the best and say goodbye with a promise that I will do everything I can to take his legacy forward.

– Ashish Bhandari
MD & CEO, Thermax

With love and affection

My Dear Thermaxians,

As I step down as the MD & CEO of Thermax, let me express my gratitude to each one of you, my dear friends who steadfastly stood by me throughout this journey. We worked as a team… to fulfill a mission… worked tirelessly to protect and grow our company. Your sense of ownership and commitment has helped the management to navigate our company through some of the worst industrial turbulences.

You have been an incredible part of my journey; I owe my successes to all of you Thermaxians. You have not just made my 28 years memorable but also the last few days in the company truly special by bringing back the nostalgia of moments, right from my joining the company till today.

Thank you for making me the Unny I am today – Anu, Meher and Pheroz for empowering and nurturing me, the Board members for mentoring me, customers for challenging and guiding me and all the leaders of Thermax for setting the stage so that I could perform to my fullest potential. My gratitude to my EC for believing in me, the entire leadership team and all of you for always putting your best foot forward in every aspect. I have learnt immensely from our TCAs and vendors on all occasions. And a special mention goes to the financial institutions, analyst community, media and industry bodies for their valuable advisory and timely probing to nudge me in the right direction.

Your efforts have made Thermax, a highly respected Energy and Environment solutions provider of India with the potential to be a global leader of tomorrow. It is also comforting to me personally that the mantle of leadership is now in the able hands of Ashish. May I seek your support to him – the same way you have extended to me – to steer Thermax towards global leadership in our chosen domain.

Wishing each one of you success in all your endeavours.

With love and affection,

– Unny

Kalsubai – A trek in the clouds

There’s an old saying that ‘health is worth its weight in gold’. This is clearly a belief that my colleagues from B&H Materials and I hold in good stead. Fitness has always been close to our hearts and over the last year, our team has taken concrete steps to stay fit. It’s really all about challenging oneself and getting out of the comfort zone by performing activities that are likely to improve your overall fitness. This was the motivation that drove us to climb Maharashtra’s highest peak – Kalsubai. At 5,400 feet above sea level, it is a considerable challenge to reach the top. 

We started preparing for the summit since February 2019 with weekly treks to the Sinhagadh fort in Pune along with two hours of cycling everyday. These regular fitness activities increased our endurance and stamina levels.

So it was that on 13th September our team – Ganpat Masal, Sagar Kumbhar, Amol Bendale and Mahesh Kulkarni from B&H Materials started out at eight in the morning. We were all quite excited to undertake the journey and the adrenaline started pumping through our veins as we drove through the chilly monsoon winds. Around 3 pm, we reached Bhandardara, 180 km from Pune. The drive to Bhandardara had been quite picturesque. The monsoons in Maharashtra bring out a riot of colors across the countryside. We saw lush green fields, blue ridge mountains and fields teeming with red and gold flowers. We stopped thrice to get views of the Wilson Dam, which was once a beautiful lake next to the woods, and now serves as a huge reservoir of rainwater. The dark rocky hills around the lake were covered in greenery and we could see the clouds floating on top. It almost seemed like images from a picture postcard. We wondered if the peak of Kalsubai was hidden somewhere up in those clouds and whether we would see it. Eventually, we reached the small village of Shendi, just 8 km away from the base of Kalsubai. Here, we had to stop for the night. 

We arose early the next day, ready to continue with our adventure. We traveled to the base village, called Bari, where we were joined by another three colleagues from our team. Abhijit Raskar, Ganesh Dhas and Santosh Mane had traveled separately and were waiting for us at Bari. So, we commenced our journey on foot. This is what we had been waiting for. The climb might have been easier at other times of the year, but we were in the middle of the monsoons. The path was steep, treacherous and slippery. Moreover, our vision was obstructed by the swirling clouds of mist, making the climb even more challenging. We passed a temple dedicated to Kalsubai Devi and prayed for our safety. Sometimes, we sank into the mud and the loose rocks made us slip back. As we climbed higher and higher, the clouds became even thicker. We had a feeling that we were out to accomplish something quite amazing and the hardship was really worth it. At certain points, there were iron ladders, but climbing them was unnerving as they overlooked the deep chasms right next to them. The higher we climbed our visibility became poorer due to the thick mist. But, amazingly, every time the mist cleared, we could see white, violet and pink blossoms all around us. It was like being in ‘wonderland’. Finally, we embarked on the climb to the summit. The heavy winds beating on our faces made the climb even harder. It took us almost 2 ½ hours from this point, but we made it! We reached the top and stood on the peak of Kalsubai – the highest peak in Maharashtra!

We visited the temple of goddess, Kalsubai after whom the peak has been named. Enjoying the cold and heavy wind there, we felt like being on top of the world, literally! The climb down was even more dangerous, and after slithering and falling all over the place, we made it back just in time to have kanda bhaji, lemon juice and a refreshing shower underneath a natural waterfall. We had traversed a distance of 13 km on foot and it had taken us approximately five hours but left us with fond memories forever.

– Ganpat Masal
B&H Division

The compassion imperative

Just prior to the lockdown, I was fortunate to have moved in with my daughter and her family; and was very comfortable. But anxiety had entered my meditation space and I was preoccupied with thoughts of the well-being of my family and myself. All along, I was aware of starving migrants and daily wage earners, who were helped by many across India. But I had not realized the enormity of the suffering, until I heard a few stories in the Teach For India community in our very own city of Pune. This impacted me deeply and it shook me out of my self-centredness and anxiety, and instead, I felt very grateful and privileged.

All of us who are well-to-do have depended on those at the bottom of the pyramid to serve us and make our lives comfortable. We did not have to do the drudgery, or unpleasant daily chores, at our homes or at our factories. Today, due to the corona pandemic, the poor are suffering and are either trapped in cities or are on the move without livelihood or family support. At their hour of need, can we reach out and serve them? Very often, we discount the emotion that the poor feel towards their children and families. The poor have their pride and have worked hard all their lives to eke out a living with dignity. Without having to beg for help, can we reach out and preserve their dignity?

There are no easy answers to the dilemmas which the sensitive business community will face. With limited cash, do I safeguard the business by asking employees to leave, or retain everyone and find innovative ways to survive? Can the privileged and corporate India open up their hearts and support non-governmental organizations who reach out to the deprived and denied? In normal times, corporates are largely concerned about profits, but at this time, can a sense of purpose towards the downtrodden take priority?

Covid-19 is a test for humanity. Getting over our self-centredness and forgetting our differences of caste, class and religion, can we together help out our fellow human beings? Let’s remember that in the long run, business cannot survive in a society that fails.

– Anu Aga

My urge to outgrow the Section ‘C’ tag

We are entering the month of May, and it is that time of the year when students anxiously await their exam results or gear up for the next academic year. It reminds me of my school days that has proved to be a great learning experience, along with many challenges.

When I was in 9th standard, I shifted to Rajasthan from Assam along with my parents. It was midApril when I started attending my new school. I was enrolled in Section-A of 9th standard. As an average student, I used to pass the exams with grace marks in some subjects. And here, I was surrounded with bright students having fabulous academic scores and highly attractive personalities. Their competitive outlook and constant urge to outperform started making me feel uncomfortable, scared, nervous and confused. Back in Assam, I never bothered about results as my classmates were not too meritorious and my father expected me to join his business, which he later wound up and moved to Rajasthan. I was overwhelmed with this new environment to the extent that I stopped attending school for the next 15-20 days until one of the teachers sent a notice to my parents through my sister. It mentioned that the first internal test is going to start, which implied that it is a mandate for me to attend the classes and the tests.

After one and a half month of summer vacation following exams, the school reopened, and the test results were announced. I was one of the very few students who merely passed in every subject with a score of 41.3%. A week later, all the low scoring students along with some average students from Section-A and Section-B were shifted to a newly formed Section-C, which in itself defined our low academic credentials. On one hand, I was happy that there are few more like me, but a strong sense of regret started emerging within me, which consistently troubled my self-esteem.

Then came the turning point in my life when a voice within me urged to take this peer pressure in the right stride and develop a new perspective towards the situation. A strong desire to excel in academics emanated within me that defined the next phase of my academic journey.

I went to the class teacher of Section-A and asked, “How much does a student need to score to get back into Section-A?” He replied that a minimum annual aggregate score of 80% is mandatory, emphasising on the word ‘aggregate’.

I took this next-to-impossible target as a challenge and started working hard. I stopped participating in sports as well as extra-curricular activities and utilised the time in the library to concentrate only on studies. I also read books of lower grades to clear my fundamentals in mathematics and science. I realised that I needed help with math, and I didn’t hesitate to ask the subject teacher for extra hours of teaching. He became my guide and helped me in my difficult times.

My academic scores started improving consistently. The average of four internal tests was not impressive, but I had managed to score well in the half-yearly exams. It was getting challenging to compose an aggregate of 80% in the final exams. Finally, the results were announced. I scored around 91% in the final exams with an aggregate score of 79.8%. Missing my target by a mere 0.2% triggered a sense of failure within me. However, my persistence and perseverance were finally rewarded. I was transferred to Section-A in 10th standard with a special appreciation announcement in the school assembly hall.

It was this success that made me realise the need to change my approach towards tackling difficult situations in life. From then till now, my thirst for learning hasn’t stopped. After my 10th, I completed Diploma in Mechanical Engineering and joined Thermax in 2012. I earned a BE degree and postgraduate diploma through distance education. I have also enrolled in distant learning to pursue an Executive MBA.

When I look back, I am glad that I dared to step out of my comfort zone. Had it not been for the change in circumstances, I would have never known my true potential. When we are passionate about achieving our goal, we should believe in ourselves and look for solutions, rather than surrendering to failure. This personal experience of my life inspires and motivates me to work with a positive attitude under any difficult circumstance.

– Govind Gupta
Power

How my little village transformed the hills

I ’m sure many of you may not have heard of the village of Majale. It’s a small village near Kolhapur in Maharashtra. That’s my home and we are a small community of around 3,500 people who live there and are predominantly engaged in farming. Our village is located in the rain shadow region, with an average annual rainfall of around 300 to 400 mm. Sadly, this isn’t enough and it never takes us all the way till the next monsoon. By January, our village starts to suffer a lot of hardship as the lakes and bore-wells, as deep as 350 to 400 meter go dry. The scarcity of water persists despite the presence of three lakes in the area and the mountains are barren and dry with only a little shrubbery in a few places. This had become a problem that was affecting the livelihood of my people. We longed for a solution, but there seemed to be none. 

An idea takes seed 

It all started in February 2018, when an old friend visited my village to attend a function. The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation had recently honoured him by bestowing the title of ‘Nature’s Friend’ upon him. As such, he was well-known and revered in our community. During his visit, he made an observation that made a big impact on me. He simply said, “You have beautiful mountains in this area, but they are all barren”. For me, this was a wake-up call. I started thinking about what we could do to change this. I called upon some of my friends in the village and coincidentally, they too were planning on finding a solution. So, we joined hands and formed a group with a firm resolution to do something about this problem. 

The need of the hour for our group was to connect with experts who had successfully implemented such projects in other villages. So, we started to collect information and arranged visits to villages like Velu and Hivre Bazaar to witness the results of their projects first-hand. We also managed to get some renowned speakers to come in and motivate people to join our work. 

The winds of change start blowing 

We started out by creating continuous counter trenches (CCT) and deep continuous counter trenches (DCCT) on the slopes of the hills, but our greatest challenge turned out to be the lack of participation by villagers. Some people came forward, but it wasn’t enough. Demoralised, our team members started talking about abandoning the project. But, we didn’t give up. We came up with the idea of using social media to send out messages and images of the good work that we were doing. We desperately needed more hands to dig the trenches with us. Slowly, more people came forward, including a few NGOs. Our project gained momentum and we managed to get funding to bring in machines from the NAM foundation and JCB India. The machine operators were hosted by families in our village, who joyously served all the meals of the day, including mid-day tea. Lodging was also arranged by the Gram Panchayat. Now, the work started progressing furiously and this created a lot of interest amongst the How my little village transformed the hills 25 residents of our village. Many came forward and donated funds that had been kept aside for marriage anniversaries, children’s birthdays and other family occasions. 

With a little help from our friends 

A huge breakthrough was achieved on 1st May – Maharashtra Day. We visited a few industries and institutes in the area and appealed for ‘Shramdan’ – voluntary labour. To our surprise, one of the companies deployed around 400 workers and an institute sent 800 students. As you can imagine, the work was now progressing speedily. Within the next four months, we achieved rehabilitation of two lakes and dug out 7 km of DCCT and CCT. The water holding capacity of the lakes had gone up to 4.5 and 3.9 crore litre, respectively. On the other hand, the trenches were capable of holding 7 crore litre of water. 

Success at last 

Excitement was in the air as we waited for the premonsoon rains and once the monsoon set in, our area received approximately 350 mm of rain from June to August. The reservoirs we created were now full of water and we had enough agriculture and drinking water all the way till June 2019. The rain gods smiled on us once again in 2019, as we received 550 mm of rain. At last, our village had become self-sufficient. 

Our pride and joy 

It gives me great joy to share this wonderful story with all of you. We did all this by spending a few lakhs, within 4 to 5 months. Every person in my village today is proud of what we have done. But we haven’t stopped at just that. We are now focusing on growing grass all over the mountain and have completely stopped the felling of trees and cattle grazing on the slopes. Once the grass has grown fully, it will stop land erosion and create an entire ecosystem of insects and birds. We also expect more plants to take root through pollination and the growth of several diverse species of shrubbery. We even had celebrities like Nana Patekar, Makarand Anaspure and Satyajit Bhatakale spent their valuable time championing our cause. Our mountains are green again and I am proud that it’s all the fruit of our own labour!

– Shanitinath Patil
TBWES

A Dubai experience with RDA

They often say that a picture is worth more than a thousand words. The one that I am about to share with you brings many events to the fore.

It was the winter of December 1994, if my memory serves me right. The Middle Eastern market had started picking up after sustained efforts of over a year of establishment. Out of the blue, I received a message from Nitin Warty, the International boss at the Head Office – “RDA will visit the Dubai office around Christmas”. I realised later that the workaholic that Mr. Aga (fondly known in the office by his initials – RDA) was known to be, was probably visiting the UK to meet up with his newborn grandson, baby Zahaan (Meher’s son) and did not wish to spend idle time in the UK or India, around the New Year, when there is little business activity in most parts of the world. The only probable activity would happen in the Middle East!!

This sent all of us into a tizzy. The few moments that I had spent with him on clearance to set up the North East office at Dibrughar and the UAE office, was taxing enough. Three days with RDA was a tough call.

Honestly, I got all the help that I possibly could to create a watertight program. Our small team comprised of Mr. Raut and Muthu, as well as our closely networked ex -Thermax group. Mr. Sunil John, ex-Corporate Communications, deserves a special mention here for being well connected with the press for RDAs visit to be covered by the Gulf News and Khaleej Times. Unny, who was the GM with Terrazo, Sharjah at that time, was a key guide and advisor. Of course, we cannot forget our dear Parvin who prepared a sumptuous dinner for the entire Thermax fraternity. Apart from various customer visits, we had an exciting ‘Key Customer Contact’ power lunch at the Hyatt, since Mr. Aga always wanted to get the feel of the market first hand. After two decades, I still look back with pride at Arab, Pakistani and Indian entrepreneurs animatedly discussing business and quality of customer response in unison.

There are a couple of memorable snippets that I would like to share with our readers.

As we were moving around the UAE, I kept receiving repeated phone calls from an irate customer of Indian origin. We had supplied a surface quoting line for job work. The installation was having multiple teething problems. I kept assuring our customer, Mr. George that the matter was being dealt with and we were on top of the situation. My intention was to shield Mr. Aga from the client. However, as expected, he caught on to the situation and my plight and insisted that he wished to visit the customer’s site. So, Mr. Aga and I drove through the narrow lanes of a rundown industrial estate in Sharjah. He took down every detail of the issues faced by the customer on his ‘red pad’ and promised a suitable response. That evening he flew back to Mumbai. Phew!!… However, as expected, it wasn’t the last we had heard from RDA about the customer’s issues.

I had just reached the office the next day at 9 am and heard the phone ringing. RDA was on the line (It was 10:30 IST). Without any preamble, he asked me to repeat all the issues that Mr. George was facing and I rattled out every detail. He clarified that the entire team were listening in on the call and that matters would be sorted out. And, indeed they were. Much later I realised that he probably went straight to the office from Mumbai airport, met up with the team and only got back home after the engagement and feedback were done with. What an exemplary commitment to customer support!

Sadly, as we all know, all good things must pass and the circle of life takes over. I faced a double whammy in February / March. Within months of the exciting times in the UAE, I lost my father and we all lost Mr. Aga within a gap of a week or so. It struck me that the last time RDA landed back on the shores of India was after the UK /Dubai trip. At one end, I faced a huge loss but at the other end was gratitude in my mind for being blessed to have this exposure. Years later, Pheroz Pudumjee summed it up aptly during one of our many exchanges at the erstwhile Thermax International “My only regret is that I could not spend a few more years working under Rohinton.” Well, the show goes on and the circle of life continues.

– Feroze Bacha
Ex-Thermaxian

THERMAX: A GREAT COMPANY TO WORK FOR

After completing my engineering degree from IIT Bombay, I spent a very interesting and eventful period in a large engineering PSU for 18 years. I was getting used to the comfort zone. This is a typical state where you are bereft of challenges. Before lethargy sets in, I needed a change and started looking for options.

During my subsequent trip to Pune in early 1992, I visited TBW (the present TBWES) and after meeting with the concerned people, decided to start a new innings in their field engineering department. This news was received with mixed feelings by my colleagues. While some congratulated me, others were apprehensive about my decision to leave the safe ocean of a public sector giant (turnover 3,000 crore) for the unchartered waters of a relatively small private company (TBW turnover at that time being around 30 crore). But I was excited and looking forward to this change.

I shall never forget my first day in TBW. After completing the joining formalities, I was asked to report to Mr. Oak, Head of Field Engineering. After the preliminary icebreaking chat, I was asked to pay a visit to an ongoing site in Bhosari where an oil fired boiler was being erected. My last posting in my previous organisation was at a 3 x 500 MW power plant. You can imagine my shock on seeing the TBW oil fired boiler at Bhosari. It was a package boiler in a 5m x 5m enclosure! All apprehensions of my erstwhile colleagues flooded my mind, and I had serious doubts about my decision. But after some reflection, I decided to leave the ocean behind me and plunged head-on into the TBW sea.

Over a period of time, I found that TBW was a wonderland of boilers! There were so many types of boilers that I had never heard of. Each new project was unique, a discovery, learning and a challenge. My earlier stint instilled a specialist culture, making you a master of only one, but in TBW I realised we had to be a jack of all and master of some! The projects were small in comparison, but the exposure was tremendous!

One more striking difference I noticed was that in other companies no matter how senior you are, there was always somebody above you to make decisions and it was expected that your senior would take the required decisions, leaving you free of worries. Therefore, my first few months in TBW were difficult as I tended to seek Mr. Oak’s intervention in most of my work as I had been indoctrinated to behave so. One day he called me and explained to me that I had full powers, authority and responsibility to make decisions regarding my work and it is not expected that I shall encroach upon his time to carry out my job.

I got the message. From then on working in TBW was a joy! But sometimes it was like a mad house as the pressures and challenges were high. I was surprised to see that there was hardly any hierarchy. All the people were on first name terms as against the yes sir, sure sir, right away sir culture. The open door policy in TBW encouraged subordinates to approach seniors freely. Even our MD’s cabin door was always open.

Here I got the opportunity to interact with our American B&W deputies and in the process, gained valuable guidance in conflict management. Their management style was informal and if they needed to discuss something with you, they would come to your workplace and not summon you to their cabin.

As the days passed, I found myself getting used to working in the informal and at times chaotic environment of TBW. I experienced the pangs of working in a growing organisation and growing along with it. The growth of TBW over the years was phenomenal and with it came computerisation, systems and procedures, ISO and ERP and along with it came orderliness.

TBW was growing steadily under the able guidance of our MD, Mr. Prakash Kulkarni. He had a very endearing style of functioning, taking all of us together, always engaging the HODs in shaping the company’s policies and involving them in critical decisions. He would cajole us to experiment, to stretch, to walk that extra mile so that we remained ahead of the competition. It is this spirit of TBW and Thermax as a whole which was so enjoyable! Thermax is one of the very few professionally managed family businesses of India.

In TBW, I saw that people did not believe that the boss is always right. The work culture encouraged healthy dissent in the interest of the job which is very rarely seen in the industry. Here I found that the guiding principle in dealing with subordinates was that every individual is taken to be sincere and honest unless proved otherwise. Trust and delegation were the hallmarks of the work culture, encouraging individuals to unleash their potential. Merit and hard work were rewarded. There were plenty of opportunities for individual development through mentoring and technical, behaviooural and managerial training. 

After spending 13 years in TBW, I left for another organisation but I realised that after working in TBW, it is extremely difficult to work anywhere else. I returned back to Thermax within a year. After my superannuation from Thermax I spent three years managing a 600 MW power plant but always missed the Thermax culture.

Now that I have hung up my boots, I look back fondly to the time I spent in Thermax. I shall always remember Thermax as a company which is caring but firm with its greatest asset – its employees. A company that brings out the best in you, enabling you to always better yourself.

Even today when I see Thermax in the news for some feat or achievement, my heart swells with pride for once being a part of this wonderful organisation. Thermax and its employees have a great future indeed!

– Jayant Sagade
Ex-Thermaxian

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