Born in Nagpur – a “moderate-size” town of 2.5 million, she grew up, as she puts it, in a “very normal” family. Her face lights up when she talks about going to the best high school in town, winning an international chemistry competition and talking to her uncle about the chemistry of perfumes.

By the time she had finished both undergraduate and graduate degrees in chemical engineering, Abhiruchi had a pretty good picture of what she wanted to do, but the field of companies was wide open.

“I was looking for a position that would blend both technology and operations…but to tell you the truth I had never considered aluminium. It doesn’t matter what material a chemical engineer is playing with, as long as he gets to play.” Spoken by a true scientist at heart.

Good fit

To hear her say that Hydro “fit her profile for a company I’d like to work for” rather than the other way around, you know you’re speaking to a woman with a strong idea of what she wants.

Was it the right choice?

“I started work in the Cell Design Unit, working with the team that designs electrolytic cells for the aluminium plant, working on live projects with a lot of responsibility. The structure in Hydro is very flat, so the way of working is much closer. I like the openness and transparency. They have a great way of making the graduates feel like they are part of the working environment. It feels great.”

Far from home

Norway is long way from India. “I’ve loved every minute. But they have some weird customs, like this brown goat cheese that’s really disgusting. Other than that I really love Norway and working at Hydro.”

We’ll have a word with the canteen.