Thermax Ltd is an Indian multinational engineering conglomerate, involved in clean air, clean energy and clean water, headquartered in Pune. Thermax's business portfolio includes products for heating, cooling, water and waste management, and specialty chemicals. The company also designs, builds and commissions large boilers for steam and power generation, turnkey power plants, industrial and municipal wastewater treatment plants, waste heat recovery systems and air pollution control projects.
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Type | Public |
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ISIN | INE152A01029 |
Industry | Conglomerate |
Founded | 1980 |
Headquarters | Pune, Maharashtra, India |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
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Products | Integrated products in the areas of clean air, clean energy, clean water and chemicals. |
Revenue | ![]() |
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Total assets | ![]() |
Total equity | ![]() |
Website | www |
It was founded as a family concern in 1966 by A. S. Bhathena and later taken over by his son-in-law, Rohinton D. Aga (R. D. Aga), who served as the chairman and managing director until his death in 1996. The company went public in 1995. After his death, R. D. Aga's wife, Anu Aga, who was heading HR at the time, became the chairperson.
Anu Aga was the chairperson of the company from 1996 to 2004, until she handed over the reins to her daughter, Meher Pudumjee.[2] In 2007, Anu Aga made it to the List of Richest Indians by Net Worth according to Forbes magazine.[3][4]
Ashish Bhandari is currently the MD and CEO of the company.[5]
Thermax manufactures boilers to harness the power of steam. The company started with producing small, once-through, "baby" boilers to cater to the steam requirements at hospitals. It was established in 1966, when A. S. Bhathena collaborated with a Belgian company, Wanson, to commence business operations in Dadar, Mumbai, India as Wanson India Ltd., manufacturing small boilers.[6]
In the 1970s, Wanson India Ltd. introduced Vaporax boilers that generated instant steam. The oil shock saw the firm introducing Multitherm, a boiler that led the shift of the Indian industrial market to solid-fuel fired boilers. The company went on to build water treatment systems for boilers, chemicals to support them and air pollution control systems to contain boiler emissions. The company was renamed in 1981 as Thermax Pvt. Limited.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Thermax branched off into waste heat recovery, absorption cooling and power generation. It went public in 1995.
Thermax played a key role in the country's energy shifts – from oil to coal and biomass, to waste heat, solar and other forms of clean energy. In 1987, it started making vapor absorption machines in collaboration with Sanyo of Japan. It formed a joint venture in 1988 with Babcock & Wilcox, United States, who make boilers, to make steam generation units for heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs).[7] In 1992, it formed the Combined Heat and Power Group.
On 15 February 1995 it became a public company on the Bombay Stock Exchange. It has, since long, been known simply as Thermax Limited.
In 2009, it signed a 51–49 joint venture with US firm SPX Corporation to provide equipment and services for the Indian power sector.[8][9]
In 2010, it signed a joint venture agreement with US-based Babcock & Wilcox to manufacture super-critical boilers for the power sector.[10]
In 2010, Thermax also acquired European boiler manufacturer, Danstroker A/S and its German subsidiary, Omnical Kessel for €29.5 million.[11]
In 2017, Thermax acquired Polish boiler manufacturer, Weiss Sp. z.o.o. in Poland.[12]
With a main manufacturing plant in Pune, known earlier as Poona, Maharashtra, India, the company has an R & D setup, involved in technology development and innovation for various applications. Over the years, the company has formed technology partnerships with Babcock & Wilcox, U.S. (for supercritical boilers), SPX Corporation, U.S. (for energy efficiency systems), Lambion Energy Solutions, Germany (for combustion systems to generate energy from waste), Georgia Pacific, U.S. (for paper chemicals and specialty products) and Marsulex Environment Technologies, U.S. (for air pollution control systems). Over the years, Thermax has spread its operations to markets across the world. It has a sales and service network spanning 22 countries around the world. The company has also focused on growth through strategic acquisitions – Danstoker and Boilerworks in Denmark, Weiss in Poland (for boilers and waste heat recovery systems) and Rifox, Germany (for steam accessories).
Its three main segments are:[13]