Meet Mr. URC Devarajan, MD of URC Construction, who is a visionary in the nation building

As your reading this you might be at your home, office, restaurant or across the town square. But no matter where you are,  the one thing that comforts you is a man-made nest.  We may often call ourselves as intellectual beings who managed to ruin the beauty of nature with our deeds. One thing we forget is that we are just like any other species building a shelter. Is there anything wrong to build a nest for us? Absolutely nothing.

Like the twigs in a bird’s nest, the sticks and grass in a beaver’s lodge, the leaf castle of the arboreal ants, the gravel and sand make up our homes too. 

CREATIONS DEFYING TIME AND EXISTENCE:

What is the travel souvenir you buy when you visit the city of love? That’s right, the Eiffel tower without any doubt. Similarly, USA has a statue of liberty, London has Big Ben, Australia has the Melbourne star, Malaysia has Petronas towers and recently Dubai has Burj Khalifa. Whenever you set foot in a new country, the first thing that stands as an identity is a famous construction in that place. It not only identifies the city but also becomes the signature for it. They stand as a testimony defying all impediments of time and natural calamities, exhibiting the marvels a simple human mind and body could do. 

U aRe C ing THE SOURCE OF CREATION:

Such powerful creations need powerful minds that are strong enough to imagine and courageous to execute them.  URC constructions is without any doubt an example of it. I, Karthi Easwaramoorthy, was absolutely overwhelmed and delighted to have the conversation with Mr URC. Devarajan in one fine evening sharing his wisdom. We owe him hearty gratitude for the humble responses and solicitous attitude throughout the talk.  

URC Construction is a leading infrastructure design organisation that is revolutionising construction ideas among Government, Corporate and Private agencies. URC has an unbelievably strong foundation starting from the year 1956 and has expertise in the field for over 64 years.  Over this period URC has taken up several projects in various fields and has shown nothing other than pure diligence and perfection. 

URC Construction was founded by Mr U R Chinnusamy in the year 1956. Apart from the pillars and strong buildings, he also built good values and personalities in all his encounters with people. Mr URC Devarajan shared with us the most loving memories he had of his father and how his father is an idol for him. At the end of this blog, you will understand why Mr UR Chinnusamy is a hidden gem should be recognised by the generation today. 

The story of URC starts with a young teenager with a vision to create a construction company that is solely run by strong work ethics and values. Mr Chinnusamy started his career at the age of 18 when he set out to venture into the construction field with his cousin.  He worked alongside him till the age of 25 after which he decided to use his knowledge and experience to create his own organisation. 

  Mr URC Devarajan recalls that his uncle (father’s cousin ) one day told his grandmother 

“ Your son right there, He is something else. He is a divine being in a human body. His thoughts, ideas are all very different from us. “ 

Like a storm in the tempest, his billion-dollar dream in a human mind, set foot on the outside world.  He named the organisation UR Chinnusamy and Company in 1956 and started constructing his dreams from then.

FIRST STEP TOWARDS FUTURE WORLD: 

It was the early times after the Independence of India and the main occupation of most of the residents was agriculture. Hence it was the time of industrial development and also there were innumerable irrigation projects taking place in the country.

URC’s first ventures in the construction field were all irrigation projects like building canals, dams and hydroelectric stations. They carried out these projects with utmost reverence and diligence that they are strong and stand rigid even till today. 

URC excelled in irrigational constructions for over a period of 11 years. Slowly the organisation started to expand and they started taking up social infrastructure construction projects. Mr URC Devarajan quotes that, 

“The first step towards a country’s development is how well built is the country’s social infrastructure”.          

URC constructions completed notable social infrastructure projects like building schools, colleges and hospitals in the locality.  Subsequently, they also handled urban development projects launched by the government called HUDCO( Housing and Urban Development Corporation)  which involved the construction of houses and promoting urban infrastructure development. Along with this, the TNGRHS project ( Tamil Nadu Government Rental Housing Scheme) started to provide good accommodation facilities to state government employees was also successfully carried out by the organisation. 

MILESTONES ALONG THE LONG JOURNEY:

Brave sailors never turn back on a storm, they sail through it. Even though Mr Chinnusamy faced health issues in the late 70s, he continued his work with the help of his partners. The empire never backed down, it rather stood tall and strong just like their construction. URC was not just building promising buildings but also started gaining the trust of thousands of clients and staff families. Wherever the work took place the family shifted to that place to take care of the progress.  Hard work, veracious approach and authenticity is the main reason why URC is one of the top 20 construction companies in India. 

Over these years URC has built over 750 successful projects and covered several million sq ft of construction space.  Their notable projects include:

  •  Nanjangud sugar factory built in the year 1986.
  • Dharani Sugars and chemicals limited, Vasudevanallur built in 1987
  • The spinning mill in Rajapalayam handled by the Ramco group that was solely set up for export was built by URC.
  • The International Trade Promotion Organisation in Chennai was an unbelievable work of excellence done by URC. The entire construction was completed in a very short span of just 200 days. 
  • The housing projects during the rule of Perarignar Anna that consisted of building 800 houses were completed by URC.
  • Netaji Apparel park was also a milestone achievement for the organisation completing the entire work in just 15 months. 
  • Tirupattur Sugar Mills are some of the notable projects that were successfully completed by the organisation.

Apart from this URC also constructed numerous sugar mills and textile units in and around Tamilnadu. 

 Not only factory units URC has been entrusted with the construction of complex projects like Airport segment construction and Metro projects.  Today URC construction handled all fields in the construction sector that includes schools, colleges, hospitals, railways, metro, airport and also private and commercial projects.

URC not only handled construction but also believed that the learning process for an organisation is as important as the work itself. Hence they set up software development segments within the organisation to utilise the power of data.  It was a very successful venture that they designed a software that was precisely built for construction management. The software is still used by many construction agencies. 

Mr URC Devarajan thoughtfully mentioned how staying in the construction field has shown them that they can influence the five elements of the earth. With so much enthusiasm he explained each element and its connection with URC.

Here is how 

 Air –  airport construction 

Water –  irrigation, dams and hydroelectric projects

Fire –  education. Now here’s the interesting part. He always considered education to be the spark of enlightenment in the lives of the students. Thus he considers education as the fire element. 

Earth –  The buildings and factories.

Space – software. 

KNIGHTS TEMPLAR GUARDING VALUES OF HAMLETS:

Throughout the talk, the one thing Mr URC Devarajan emphasised was that one should never forget his roots. Always stay true to your origins and never lose contact with the place you were brought up. That is where you can experience your truest self in all its glory.  The inseparable bond and respect he had for his father was a whole different vibe that captivated us throughout the session. He honoured his father and stayed true to his promise following each and every lesson his father had taught. After all these years he feels happy that the next generation of the family abides by his words too.

He stood by his words in treating all employees the same. Each and every individual in the organisation is given equal importance irrespective of their position in the company.   His wonderful deeds and skill in leadership brought him to a responsible position of maintaining the administration of the Kongu Institution in which he served as the correspondent. He says that teachers are also important personalities to be interviewed and brought to light. He made notable advances in the college and also brought stability and recognition of the college in the sector. 

The lessons his father taught him can be reflected in all his works today. Despite being the governing member of the organisation Mr URC Devarajan shifts his family to the construction site and stays at the labour housing along with other staff members. He recalls one such incident where URC was handling a massive project away from his place. Without any second thought, he shifted his family to the location along with his 11 months old son. 

Mr URC Devarajan also shared another incident that happened at Mangalore. It was during the rainy season at Mangalore and the rains were dreadfully pouring down all month. Since it stopped raining one morning Mr C Devarajan decided to visit the nearby temple. Not surprisingly it started raining again after the prayers were over. He saw an officer and his subordinate coming around the temple premises circling the Vigraha. To his dismay, the subordinate was drenched in the rain holding an umbrella for the officer.  Mr URC Devarajan couldn’t contain his emotions and outraged by the officer’s deed he went straight up to him and politely explained that such an attitude is not to be encouraged in temple premises.  Making our workers suffer and enjoying a privilege is completely an absurd way of treating our fellow human beings. 

We were awestruck upon hearing his altruistic behaviour and courageous attitude in the temple. It is not just another story but Mr URC Devarajan carries his father’s words as a legacy to be passed on to generation after. URC is under such honourable governance that the retention rate in URC is very high. Currently, they are operating in over 11 states in India with over 2000 permanent employees and 8000 labours as per manpower requirements with a vision of being a 2 billion dollar company.

He advises all the aspirants to be true to themselves, never let go of their roots and be proud of living in this beautiful land. It was wonderful session. Wish him a good luck on behalf of DigitalVillage.In

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