Mumbai: At a time when sectors such as defence engineering and heavy manufacturing are still widely regarded as male-dominated industries, Devashree Nampurkar, 37, is redefining the narrative. As the whole-time Director of Shree Refrigerations Limited, she is leading a company that provides advanced cooling systems for warships and submarines.
The Invisible Shield
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Cooling technology may not always be visible on the battlefield, but it is vital for maintaining to fight ability of a warship or submarine as the complex electronics and certain systems onboard need reliable cooling solutions to function effectively.
Shree Refrigerations Limited has earned a unique position in India’s defence ecosystem. The company is trusted by the Indian Navy and is the only Indian firm with naval registrations across three critical segments—chillers and refrigeration plants, turnkey HVAC&R solutions, and electrical control panels. Through these capabilities, the company contributes to ensuring that naval vessels remain technologically ready and operationally efficient.
An Engineer's Journey
Devashree, a mechanical engineer by training, represents the second generation of leadership in the company founded by her family. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and later pursued a Master’s degree in Business and Management in the United Kingdom. Despite being part of the promoter family, her journey within the organisation began at the grassroots level.
“I started my career as a marketing trainee in our company,” she recalls. “Over the years, I learned the business from the ground up. Through performance, technical learning and experience, I gradually took on more responsibilities.”
Confronting Stereotypes
Speaking to The FPJ on the occasion of International Women’s Day, Devashree reflected on the challenges and opportunities she encountered while working in a field where women are still underrepresented. “My journey has been both challenging and rewarding,” she says. “Defence engineering has traditionally been dominated by men, and initially, people often had reservations about discussing technical matters with a woman.”
However, she chose to confront the stereotype head-on by strengthening her technical expertise. “I realised that strong technical understanding is essential in this field. I worked hard to build my domain knowledge. Over time, people began to recognise my capabilities, and that helped me earn respect as a leader,” she explains.
For Devashree, leadership in engineering has nothing to do with gender. “Capability, commitment and knowledge define leadership in engineering, not gender,” she adds.
Engineering Under Pressure
One of the company’s key areas of work involves designing cooling systems that can withstand the extreme conditions faced by naval vessels. Warships and submarines experience constant motion due to rolling, pitching and yaw movements while operating at sea. Designing equipment that can function reliably under such dynamic conditions requires a high degree of engineering innovation.
“There are also space constraints on warships and submarines,” Devashree explains. “Our systems must be compact, highly reliable and performance-driven. Continuous innovation is therefore essential in our field.”
The company’s work also aligns with India’s push for indigenous manufacturing under the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
“We are proud to contribute to India’s self-reliance in defence manufacturing. Earlier, many specialised cooling systems had to be sourced from foreign vendors. Today, Indian companies like ours are building those capabilities domestically,” she says.
A Family Honour
The company was also recognised at the Udyami Bharat Conclave, where Devashree’s mother represented the organisation and had the opportunity to interact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Beyond business growth, Devashree is equally focused on building an inclusive workplace and encouraging more women to join the engineering and manufacturing sectors. “There is still a perception that mechanical engineering means working long hours on the shop floor or doing physically demanding tasks,” she says. “But engineering today is about technology, innovation and problem-solving. The industry has evolved tremendously.”
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She believes India’s future in manufacturing and innovation will require greater participation from women. “We encourage women to join our technical teams and provide them with training, exposure and opportunities to work across different sectors and locations, both in India and internationally. Creating a safe and supportive environment is very important.”
Looking ahead, Devashree envisions expanding the company’s technological capabilities and entering new sectors while continuing to support India’s defence ecosystem. “Our vision is to strengthen our position as a leading indigenous engineering partner for the Indian Navy and expand into advanced cooling technologies in other strategic sectors. We have also begun exploring opportunities in areas such as data-centre cooling,” she says.
Headquartered in Karad, Maharashtra, Shree Refrigerations Limited brings over four decades of expertise in defence cooling systems. Under Devashree Nampurkar’s leadership, the company is not only advancing engineering innovation but also demonstrating how women can lead transformative change in traditionally male-dominated industries.
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