Sam Sherwood-Hale talks to Suramya Nevatia, Chairman & Managing Director of Hirect, on the company’s expanding global footprint and what to expect from the business at InnoTrans 2026

SSH: Tell us about Hirect’s role in the rail sector and how the business has evolved over recent years?

SN: Hirect has grown alongside Indian Railways for almost seven decades, first as a major supplier of transformers and rectifiers for its locomotives, and progressively as a power electronics company, as indigenous electric traction technology matured.

Today Hirect holds the leading market share in traction transformers, serving a network that is now almost fully electrified, clean and efficient, in a country home to 18 per cent of the world’s population.

In recent years we have made great strides in power electronics for rail applications and are shipping high-power IGBT converters, auxiliary power supplies and SiC battery chargers, along with traction motors and HVAC systems, to Indian Railways. The future looks brighter still: our locomotive propulsion system has completed acceptance, and we have secured our first trainset orders: the complete power and control systems for Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) and Vande Metro (Namo Bharat) passenger trains.

SSH: What are your ambitions for the business over the next few years?

SN: Our ambition is to complete the shift from component manufacturer to vertically integrated systems and solutions provider.

The recent milestones point the way: as we continue to scale our electric locomotive business, we have now secured our first trainset order, covering the complete train electrics and our first IGBT-based MEMU propulsion order. Trainsets are where Indian Railways is heading, and we intend to be at the centre of that transition.

Alongside India, we are building a global business. We manufacture in India and France, we have incorporated a subsidiary in Dubai to serve Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and we have recently concluded business in the United States that expands us both regionally and by application. I expect our company to grow its revenues and relevance exponentially and globally over the next few years.

SSH: You’ve recently completed a significant test of your in-house propulsion system in the US. What did that milestone mean for Hirect?

SN: The announcement covered our success in powering Indian Railways locomotives with a propulsion system designed and produced entirely in-house. Beyond the obvious revenue growth opportunity, this technical qualification under a rigorous test regime is a testament to Hirect’s engineering, manufacturing and quality management systems.

SSH: This year’s InnoTrans marks the show’s thirtieth anniversary, with a lot of the programme built around global growth, digitalisation and decarbonisation across the industry. How does Hirect’s own story fit into that wider narrative?

SN: Decarbonisation is the challenge of our times, and we feel privileged to play a part in this transformation. That the technology also makes commercial sense is not incidental, it is a requirement for the transition to succeed, and we expect to grow alongside the market and our fellow contributors at InnoTrans 2026.

Hirect’s role sits squarely in the supply chain for this shift: propulsion and power conversion equipment that enables the move from diesel to hybrid, electric and alternative energy sources such as hydrogen.

With manufacturing in India and France, we are also part of the industry’s global growth story, serving one of the world’s fastest-expanding rail markets while building a European footprint. We have started catering to business opportunities from different regions such as EU, Africa, East Asia and USA. And as rail systems become more digital, the intelligence built into our converters and chargers is increasingly as important as the power electronics themselves.

SSH: InnoTrans is such a significant moment for the industry. What can visitors expect to see from Hirect this year?

SN: InnoTrans is both a forum for discussion and the most important marketplace for the world’s key rail technologists, financiers, planners and visionaries. Our contribution to the show is bigger than ever: we are bringing all of our latest products like the High Power converters, Variety of Power Modules, our Traction Motor and assorted electronic products along with a large contingent from R&D, engineering, procurement, manufacturing, sales and marketing, along with our executive team, to teach, to learn and to celebrate our industry.

SSH: What are you hoping to get out of the show, in terms of conversations, partnerships, or new markets?

SN: Exposure, obviously – and we expect plenty of business as a result of our attendance – but the nuts and bolts of brand management, lead generation and product presentation are not the only reason to attend a show. What I look forward to most is the unexpected: the unanticipated compounding of opportunity that happens whenever smart people with converging interests get together.

SSH: Is there anything you’re particularly looking forward to at this year’s event, whether that’s your own stand or the wider show?

SN: I’m deeply thankful for the great relationship we have developed with Indian Railways, and I believe the products and technologies we have created under their guidance are more than ready to satisfy the burgeoning worldwide demand for high power electronics systems. I’m particularly looking forward to meeting international customers whose needs we can fulfil with our products and expertise.

SSH: You’ve recently brought copper conductor manufacturing in-house at a new plant. What was behind that decision, and what does it add to your capability as a manufacturer?

SN: Being a reliable, high-quality manufacturer is front and centre at Hirect, and we saw copper wire availability for our motors and transformers as a key supply chain risk. By controlling our copper, we control our destiny for these product lines – and it doesn’t hurt that we now control cost and quality too. We also have limited excess capacity that we’re willing to share, offering the same benefits to a small number of companies with similar goals.

SSH: Hirect designs and builds a lot of its technology in-house, from power electronics through to control software, rather than licensing it in. How would you describe your approach to engineering and product development?

SN: We take – I take – responsibility for every promise we make at Hirect, from delivery guarantees to product quality, and further into the implied promise of fair treatment and ethical behaviour that a long-term business relationship requires. Part of that is making sure we have the tools and systems in place to deliver on those promises, and sometimes that means having complete control – as we do over our power engineering, our electronics and electrical systems manufacturing, and even the dielectric coating on our copper wire. We even make our PCBs in-house, at the factories of Elventive – in Mumbai, India and La Ferté-Bernard, France.

SSH: As the business grows quickly and moves into new markets, how do you go about maintaining consistency and quality across your manufacturing?

SN: There is no more pressing need, nor more important investment, at Hirect than product quality. Quality starts in R&D, with the design of products that can be manufactured in volume to a high standard, and that ethos extends through to engineering and manufacturing and into our after-sales service. I don’t think there is any alternative to making significant investments in people, skills, systems & processes and software – and that is what we have done and will continue to do.