Meher Pudumjee to take over as chairperson of Thermax today

Pune: Engineering company Thermax Ltd is gearing up for a transformation, which will double its turnover and triple profits by 2008.

The company, which roped in McKinsey & Co as consultant four months ago to strategise for future growth, will now focus on increasing productivity and throughput from its existing shops, bringing down costs and putting in place a cadre of senior and middle management people who will steer it in future, Meher Pudumjee, chairperson- designate said in Pune.

Pudumjee, who formally takes over as chairperson (non-executive) from her mother, Anu Aga, on Tuesday, said the first phase of the McKinsey report has suggested that the company focus, among other things, on operational excellence which encompasses cost leadership, quality, delivery and efficiencies of operation, internationalisation of some of its divisions in specific markets, innovation and R&D, and leadership and capability building.

"On the global front, we have the opportunity and the skills to become a provider of boilers and chillers and on the domestic front the strategy is to become the dominant player in all other products that we are present in," Pudumjee said.

"Skill-based manufacturing is our strength and as far as R&D and innovation go, Thermax has worked on the largest number of fuels and has experimented with a variety of applications."