Chairman shies away from corporate setup
Hyderabad: In a corporate setup, the profit goes to the owner. But in a cooperative, the focus is different, the aim is to benefit not just one owner, but everyone involved. That’s the belief that has guided the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS) for the past 99 years. Started in the 1920s by 14 workers inspired by social reformer Guru Vagbhatananda, ULCCS has completed more than 7,500 projects, from roads and bridges to IT parks.
At the centre of this growth is chairman Rameshan Paleri, who has led the cooperative since 1995. He says the aim is not to turn into a profit-driven company, but to continue as a people-driven cooperative. ULCCS’s recent construction initiative, uSphere, aims to build faster and greener houses using modular materials like steel and EPS panels, along with smart systems like solar panels and sensor-based utilities. “We want to finish buildings in half the usual time with smarter, sustainable technology,” said Rohit Prabhakar, uSphere’s Business Development Manager. Their ongoing project, Unity Mall in Thiruvananthapuram, a part of a central government plan, is designed as a cultural and commercial hub using local materials and design inspired by Indian street markets. “We’re exploring terracotta, coir, and a facade that represents Kerala’s landscape,” said architect Niloufer. In Kozhikode, ULCCS’s Matter Lab, launched in 2022, has quickly become south India’s largest NABL-accredited material testing lab. “From soil penetration tests to bridge stability, road surfaces, water quality, and even microbiological samples, we test everything,” said senior quality engineer Sooraj Chandra R S. The lab follows a double-blind system to ensure unbiased results. “Technicians only see sample numbers,” said compliance engineer Sreelakshmi S B, Compliance Engineer. ULCCS also built UL CyberPark, Kozhikode’s first IT park, now home to 80+ companies and 2,000 professionals. “ULCCS always created jobs for workers. So we thought why not create jobs for engineers and IT professionals,” said Kishor Kumar T.K., chief operating officer of UL CyberPark. He recalls how the idea was born during a casual coffee shop conversation and was later supported by the state government. Though it has expanded into IT, tourism, and infrastructure, ULCCS still calls itself a cooperative, not a company. “The moment we think like a corporate, the purpose is lost,” said Rameshan Paleri.
