Meher Pudumjee and Family

Thermax makes the systems that help factories use less energy and generate less waste. As India decarbonises its industry, the company's product range has become more relevant.

Thermax is an industrial engineering company that provides energy, water and environmental solutions to manufacturing and process industries: systems that help factories generate heat and power efficiently, treat water for industrial use, and manage air quality and emissions. Meher Pudumjee chairs the company, carrying forward a business that her mother Anu Aga reshaped in the early 2000s after personal tragedy led her to step back from operational management and focus on governance and succession. The combination of industrial engineering relevance and unusually deliberate leadership transition has made Thermax a studied case in Indian family business governance.

The company operates across India and in international markets, competing against global engineering firms in categories where specifications are set by industrial clients. As Indian manufacturing targets decarbonisation and energy efficiency improvements, Thermax's product range, including heat recovery systems, absorption chillers and biomass energy solutions, becomes more relevant to the direction of Indian industry. Zahaan and Lea Pudumjee represent the next generation.