There was an outpouring of tributes to her life and work when well-known entrepreneur and businesswoman Homai Engineer who headed the Industrial Boilers Limited (IBL) Group, died on March 24, 2025 in Bombay at the age of 84 following a brief illness. Variously described as "a trail blazer” and "a legendary lady who inspired us,” she was known to be "a warm, generous, loving and hospitable person” who faced life’s challenges bravely.
Engineer was born in 1941 to the Marphatia family of six siblings residing in Cusrow Baug. Married at the early age of 18, by 22 she was juggling her duties as a young mother of two sons and handling a portion of the family’s boiler repairs work done in the backyard of their home in the Bombay suburb of Chembur.
Homai Engineer
Top from l: young Engineer wins National Productivity Council Award; receives
Outstanding Zarathushti Entrepreneur Award from Minoo Shroff;
above seated, ext l: at meeting of Parsis with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
Dastur Khurshed Dastoor (seated 3rd and 4th from l)
Her father-in-law, Naoroji, was instrumental in teaching young Homai the intricacies of boiler operation and repairs. As an old hand in the industry, Naoroji imported, erected and repaired boilers that had been made in England. He was the first Indian engineer to have changed from riveting to welding in the manufacture and management of boilers.
Representing her Empress Welding and Repairing Works, Homai would meet with engineers of textile mills in Lower Parel. With her innate charm and hands-on knowledge of boiler technology, she bagged several boiler repair contracts in a tough, male dominated market despite competition from other firms. Following up with mill-owners for payment after completion of work remained a major challenge but Homai’s confidence grew as she gained experience.
In 1978 the family decided to establish a boiler manufacturing facility at Vapi, Gujarat, a small town with open rice fields where horse-drawn tongas were used for transport. Homai stoically resided at the factory to operate the new plant. It was a small unit with 10 workers and a monthly turnover of only Rs 1,00,000, but through determination and perseverance, business gradually picked up.
Engineer family at the memorial meet
An industrial boiler made by Engineer’s company
Photo: Jasmine D. Driver
In the 1980s her sons, Rohinton and Cyrus, joined the business. Brand IBL continued to grow in strength. Homai managed the production and marketing while keeping a tight rein on the finances. "I must ensure inventory is maintained and deliveries are executed on schedule,” she said. As her home was located within the factory premises, she would visit the workspace even at 3 a.m. to ensure that no worker was sleeping on the job. Managing labor came naturally to Homai. Her philanthropic nature made the workers regard her as "mother.” She was ever ready to listen to their problems, to counsel and even provide monetary assistance.
In the paper mills of Vapi and Uttar Pradesh, IBL’s popularity grew. "Madam,” as she was known, would visit her customers in their homes, interact with their families over lunch and secure orders from under the noses of her competitors in Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Kashipur. She had an uncanny ability to resolve customers’ grievances.
By the 1990s, IBL went international. Homai was a frequent participant, along with her sons, at industrial fairs in Hanover, Frankfurt, Nairobi, Lagos, Kazakhstan, Rangoon, Johannesburg, etc. By 2010, IBL expanded to five manufacturing plants in Vapi, a turbine plant in Greater Noida and another in Baroda.
Homai was the recipient of several awards and honors including the Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur, Engineering Exports Awards from the government of India, National Productivity Council Award, World Quality Award — Paris, Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indian boiler industry. It was her ardent wish to motivate women to take up entrepreneurship.
She was also insistent that the women of the Engineer family work in the IBL offices. Managing her growing family with great affection but strict commandments, her goal was to ensure family unity at all costs. The legendary entrepreneur loved to travel and had visited 50 countries. The younger family members found it difficult to keep pace with her passion for travel and adventure.
A staunch Zarathushti, champion of religious causes and a diehard devotee of the Iranshah Atash Behram, she assisted the Vada Dastur in obtaining necessary assistance from the government of Gujarat to save Udvada from the ravages of sea erosion and to have the holy place of pilgrimage declared a heritage town. She was always helpful in making arrangements for VIPs invited to the sacred site.
As president of the Daman-Vapi Parsi Anjuman, she managed to iron out differences between two warring factions. As a result of her efforts the groups were brought together and the bylaws approved unanimously. Hard work, perseverance and adherence to the tenets of Zoroastrianism governed her life.
The great-grandmother is survived by her sons Rohinton and Cyrus and their families.