Thermax wins CII National HR Excellence Award

Unny, Sharad and the HR team with the award : national recognition

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ROUND UP

hermax was conferred the 'CII National HR Excellence Award 2009' in July in recognition of its leadership in HR excellence. The honour came the company's way after a rigorous assessment of its leadership, HR strategy and processes, its employees' competencies and their engagement level. Independent assessors appointed by CII evaluated the strengths and opportunities for improvement, made site visits to validate the application and met the leadership team to understand how HR strategy aligned with

that of the business. Thermax qualified through a regional round to reach the national finals and shared the top award with Hindustan Unilever Ltd. Winning the national award this year was a step ahead of the commendation award that Thermax won in 2008 at the western region level. Unny accepted the award from Sunil Kant Munjal, Chairman, Hero Corporate Services Ltd. and Mr. Hari Bhartia, CII President.

Teaming with Suppliers

Pertinent questions : partnering for growth

nviting its suppliers for a meet in August 2010, the Heating Group underlined the conviction that a robust company is as good as its relationship with its stakeholders, especially in today's demanding business environment. How do you deliver improved quality products to diverse markets within shorter time frames? Reflecting on this challenge, Hemant Mohagaonkar, Executive Vice President and Head of Cooling & Heating pointed out that the velocity of change

and continuous improvement are the key elements in an efficient supply chain. The vision of Heating SBU trebling revenues in the next two years, shared by V Radhakrishnan, SBU Head of Heating, . called for team work for mutual growth. On their part, the 30 participating companies assured the heating group of their continuing support. Anant Bapat of DampfKoelben noted that working with Thermax for the last 25 years has been a great joy. Opportunities that Thermax offered for innovation and development also came in for appreciation from several participants.

ith its growing technological competence, Thermax is today reinforcing its intellectual property framework. Dr. Ajay Singhal with his team at RTIC is making employees aware of the dual demands of IPR the need to protect one's own copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design and trade secrets, while taking care not to infringe those of others. Recently, C&H Services and RTIC collaborated to file for 11 registered trademarks to distinguish its unique boiler and heater products and services from those of other organisations. Some of these trademarks are BoilerDoc, a detailed scientific study to assess the existing condition & remaining life of a pressure vessel, and suggest preventive and remedial action. Service Plus is a special service package for the maintenance of utility equipment at the desired efficiency while SmartServe is a specialized service for re-commissioning, pressure part repair, and performance trials to correct failures. Trademarks have also been filed for service offerings like comprehensive health check up of boilers and heaters and

ting rotecermax's P Th t al tellecyu in ert prop

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TM

structured examinations to avert risk to people and equipment. Thermax is actively building a solid intellectual property protection system that will cover its product portfolio in green energy, including solar, water and air. Protection of our IPR, says Dr. Sonde, Executive Vice President and RTIC chief, will help Thermax nurture a sturdy and sustainable innovation ecosystem.
The joint venture team : confident and rearing to go

Thermax SPX

in action mode

hermax SPX Energy Technologies Limited recently moved into their new office premises at Energy House, Pune. Their 20-member team is now operational with some of them having successfully completed technical training with their collaborator, Balcke Drr Gmbh, Germany. This joint venture company (JVC) is currently executing a contract for two rotary preheaters from the Thermax utility group

for a captive power plant in a refinery in western India. They are confident of the ample pickings for electrostatic precipitators, regenerative air preheaters, dry cooling systems and high pressure feed water heaters. The market has responded positively to the world class technology offered by the SPX Corporation subsidiaries, Balcke Drr and SPX Cooling. The JVC is focusing on making its major contracts in the forthcoming months more cost competitive.

Graduates get ready for Thermax Life

he 2nd batch of the Thermax Graduate Program (TGP) passed out in August 2010 at a convocation ceremony witnessed by the college faculty and C&H leadership team. The 18 youngsters, transformed into knowledgeable and competent technicians, can now look forward to operational positions at Thermax sites across the country.

The programme, in collaboration with Sinhagad College of Engineering, handpicks fresh science graduates for a 12 month curriculum to hone their theoretical knowledge, familiarise them with products and hands on approach" in areas specific to Thermax's business. Fireside congratulates the entire batch and wishes them the very best as they begin their training on sites, and their career with Thermax.

Accolades for peace

S. Ram at the award ceremony : productive relationship with workmen

hermax was chosen for the Best Company Award by the BKKM Trade Union on May 1st, Maharashtra Day and Worker's Day. It was a double triumph for Thermax as Anu Aga was also honoured with the Audhyogik Shantata Purskar (Industrial Peace Award). At a high profile felicitation ceremony in Mumbai, S. Ramchandran, Executive Vice President of Thermax accepted the awards

from the Chief Minister, Ashok Chavan. The union of the Paudh Plant of Chemical division is affiliated to the Bharatiya Kamagar Karmachari Mahasangh (BKKM) trade union. The union instituted these awards from this year, to honour organisations whose management and workmen share a cordial and productive relationship.

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C&H Services blends strategy with fun

he C&H Services SBU conducted their All India Business Conference in July 2010 at a resort overlooking the misty backwaters of the Bhatgar Dam near Pune. The group from across the country relished the idea of taking a break from the confines of the office to revisit their strategy to grow more profitably. With a blend of departmental presentations,

and fun and games, the meet rekindled the service team's spirit. At the end of the three day conference, there was renewed vigour to surpass their targets.

Renewed vigour : ready to surpass targets

Heating gears up to win

Outbound learning : strengthening the team

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he verdant and picturesque Sahyadri range proved to be the ideal location for the marketing and product management team of the Heating division to hold their annual meet. Choosing 'Create-Win-Dominate' as their theme during the outbound session, the

teams across marketing, innovation, engineering and technical services committed themselves to achieve higher levels of efficiency. Facilitated by HR, the program included a candid discussion and drawing up an agenda to enhance the strength of the team.

Akanksha and Thermax's Colour Riot

kanksha is commemorating 10 years of its association with Thermax with a variety of events. 'Colour my World' an art fiesta, gave a chance to many closet artists to run riot with paint and their imagination. Employees, their spouses and children along with students from Akanksha and K C Thackeray Vidya Niketan School (managed by Thermax Social Initiative Foundation), painted canvas squares with themes from the environment. The colourful canvases have been combined and displayed at various Thermax offices.

Dabbling in colour : themes from the environment

Towards an inclusive culture

iming to enrich various dimensions of diversity of its workforce, Thermax is increasing the number of women employed. It is also addressing the concerns of its existing women employees. Several measures have been rolled out to address the issue. These include the Women's Open Forum which saw participation from over 100 employees;

identification of women buddies with whom others can share their concerns; the availability of an in house counselor and recruitment of women workers and staff on merit. The HR team is confident of increasing the percentage of women in the company from the present 6% level to 10% in the next two years.

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Customised workshops

Conducting

Building relationships, and (inset) workshop in progress

hermax organized a training workshop for 28 senior Customs officials in September. Designed on the request of the Pune Commissioner of Customs, R Sekhar, the workshop was on interpersonal skill development. Sujata Deshpande from the Learning and Development team customised the program

to include team building activities, sensitivity training, management videos and psychometric tests. Jacob George, the EXIM chief spearheaded this second training program for the Customs team to improve collaboration between government departments and the private sector.

Honing managerial skills

Thermax Executive graduates : building managerial competence

he first batch of 39 employees across Thermax divisions and functions graduated with an Executive Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management in September. Held in partnership with the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, employee-candidates are selected through a stringent evaluation process. The 18 month

course covers general management streams and aims to enhance their technical proficiency with managerial competence. In keeping with its focus on learning and development, the management development programme at Thermax is in its seventh year and the next batch of 39 students is underway.

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Technical prowess customer site

showcased at a

At the conference : right technology for power plants

eventy-five delegates from Indian and MNC outfits converged on Kotputli, Rajasthan, the focus of their visit being Thermax boilers installed at Grasim Industries' 2x23 MW captive power plant. The visit was part of a two-day conference organised by the Boiler and Heater (B&H) group in nearby Jaipur. Senior personnel from design and engineering explained to the visiting group IR-CFB technology (internal recirculation circulating fluidized bed boilers), deployed at the power plant. The conference highlighted the advantages of using the Thermax boilers to developers

setting up power plants captive and independent on conventional solid fuels like coal, and opportunity fuels like lignite, petcoke and washery rejects. Some of these benefits include higher separation efficiency, higher furnace density, uniform temperature throughout the furnace, and lower operating and maintenance cost. The event saw participation from Reliance Infrastructure, ACC, Ambuja Cement, Ultratech, Indian Rayon, Ruchi Soya Group, Welspun, Bechtel, Fluor Daniel, ICB Technimont and JK Paper, among others.

Obituary
We regret the demise of two of our employees, both from B&H Manufacturing. Pankaj D Patil expired on 29th June 2010 in Mumbai after a battle with pneumonia. It was a road accident on 23rd July 2010 that took the life of Rahul Dighe. We pray that their souls rest in peace and offer our condolences to the bereaved members of their families.

Rahul Dighe

Pankaj Patil

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Sun tripping in Goa

eventy teammates of the B&H Materials group recently distanced themselves from supply chains and spare part purchase. They were only too happy to enjoy the sun, surf and sand on a short trip to Goa.

The train journey was a welcome break from the daily commute and it only got better with sight seeing, beach volleyball and picnics. On the way back there was a memorable stopover at the Dudhsagar waterfall.

Materials team : soaking in the fun

Forward line champs

ootball mania was revived as the Thermax team won a corporate football tournament in August. Thermax beat Nihilent Technologies 3-2 to take home the Premiers Trophy at the tournament organized by Sportz Consult, an organiser for corporate sport events. 10 teams largely drawn from IT companies put up a stiff competition but Thermax bravely and skillfully faced Fujitsu and AXA Tech to find their rightful place in the finals. The team credits their triumph to the hours of dedicated practice sessions after work.

Thermax foot ballers : dedicated practice

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Quizzing champs

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Hemant and Aanand : fact and trivia buffs

ho is the sole supplier of buns for MacDonald's in India? What is the similarity between Tower of London and companies tipped for takeover?

Aanand Ladgaonkar and Hemant Thorat from Savli Heating had no trouble answering these questions which took them to the Runner Up position in the 7th Tata Crucible Corporate Quiz. Five different rounds tested the 47 participants on the most unusual corporate happenings, facts and trivia. They were among the six finalists in the regional round at IIM, Ahmedabad, the others being ITC, IBM, Triton Communications, Vodafone and Endeavour Systems. Anand and Hemant had also bagged 4th place in the regional finals of the Brand Equity Quiz in Ahmedabad in June 2010.

Bakhtawar in race for India's best administrative professional.

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LIMELIGHT

akhtawar Battiwalla from Chinchwad factory won the regional secretary of the year award at a contest organized by the Indian Association of Secretaries and Administrative Professionals (IASAP) in August 2010. She was judged the best in team management skills among the 14 contestants. Bakhtawar has been invited to attend the 20th ASA (Association of Secretaries and Administrative Professionals in Asia-Pacific) Congress at Taipei in October 2010.
Bakhtawar : regional winner

Paper presentation by GET at IEEE forum

inanath Akela, a graduate engineer trainee from B&H Services presented a technical paper at an international conference of science and engineering, conducted by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in Bangalore in April 2010.
Dinanath : research paper for boiler industry

This project on Hydrodynamic study of cold model of bubbling fluidized bed system using bubble caps finds application in the fluidization of sand bed in the boiler industry. Dinanath, who was a final year BE (Power) student at National Power Training Institute completed this research project at the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur .

Stringing along with Rachel

achel Kshatriya, daughter of Sangita and Ravi from EXIM, won her first prize at playing the violin at a contest held by the New Life Centre, Pune. A student of western classical music, Rachel also plays for the group, Magic of Strings.
Rachel : magic of strings

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University topper, Somnath

omnath Sharma, a 2009 batch Graduate Engineer trainee is a university topper and a gold medalist who received his certificate and award from the Governor of West Bengal, Gopalkrishna Gandhi. Currently working with B&H, Somnath completed his engineering in Power from National Power Training Institute, the West Bengal University of Technology.
Somnath : gold medalist

management associate

Prajakta is an International project

rajakta Joshi from EXIM has cleared the IPMA (International Project Management Associate - Level D) examination. This certification helps upgrade project management skills, thus providing a competitive edge to organizations and career growth for individuals while improving capability to deliver better, faster and less expensive products and services. An Electronics Graduate, Prajakta has been with Thermax for five years. She is a Gold Medalist in MBA International Business and has completed her Post Graduate Diploma in Foreign Trade.
Prajakta : competitive edge

Excelling at the springboards

hermax congratulated its employees' children who excelled in their 10th and 12th standard examinations, with a scholarship and commendation certificate from Unny. While applauding the young achievers for bringing laurels to their parents, Unny encouraged them to excel at what they liked best. Some of the children who shared their thoughts felt that the board exams were not the makeor-break crossroads of their life; and they need not neglect their hobbies in the race to excel at studies. A beaming parent even broke into song while wishing the parents and their wards the best.

At the felicitation : young achievers, proud parents

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