Ramendra J Parikh: An Influential Leader And A Master Of Scale
Ramendra J Parikh
Founder
With high leadership and managerial skills, Ramendra gained complete respect from his team and other jargons in the construction fraternity. Today at the age of 80, his dynamism and spirit for the business are higher than that of any young businessman - even after effortlessly and successfully transferring the business to the next generation. He is still playing an active role as a calm, visionary, and strong advisor to the new generation leaders of RJP Infrastructure. In an exclusive conversation with CEO Insights, this industry maven shares his valuable insights.
Give a brief detail about your professional background.
Coming from a Gujarati business-oriented family, entrepreneurship has always been in my blood. Since the age of 12, I started learning lessons in business management while handling our family-owned medical store parallel to my studies during the holidays. Hence, the work ethics and ABC's of business were imbibed in me from my childhood.
Completed B.E. (Civil) in 1962 from Birla Vishvakarma Mahavidyalaya (BVM) at Vallabh Vidyanagar, Anand, Master's degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Wisconsin in 1964 and got my Professional Engineer license in 1967 registered with the State of Illinois for working in the USA, which is attained by clearing two exams whose clearing rate is just above 50 percent. After pursuing higher education, R.W. Booker &
Associates in St. Louis, US. appointed me as a structural designer, later promoted as a project engineer.
What made you come back to India and start a business? How did the journey of RJP Infrastructure begin?
My love for my family and strong feelings of patriotism spurred me to surrender my Green Card and leave the luxury of my Chevrolet to return to India. I started exploring business opportunities using a two-wheeler in the extreme summers of Ahmedabad in the year 1968. After understanding the business landscape of the country, there was a deep aspiration to start my business and launched "M/s Ramendra J Parikh, Consulting Engineers & Contractors" in 1970 with a staff of 2 persons and no major liquidity. It all began with my first concrete mixer machine worth Rs. 12,500, after taking a loan from Canara Bank in 1970 to start a contract worth Rs. 5 lacs. In addition to this, there wasn't any background in the construction industry in the family.
How has the company's growth been and what is the future roadmap set ahead?
In this ever-competitive construction field, actively working for 50 years without any bad incident is itself an achievement. You will find hardly a few companies who are still in business for the last 50 years.
The reason behind this success is the dedication and commitment to client satisfaction, quality work, timely completion, and the confidence of the client once the job is entrusted to us. We have executed projects in six states of India, namely- Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Haryana are in the process of entering other states for taking up new challenges as well.
My 3rd generation is about to enter the field as well, and I am confident that they will endure the challenges, face them head-on and take my legacy to the next level.
In your professional journey so far, what are the milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction?
Becoming a part of Dr. Verghese Kurien's every major venture for the development of the nation by constructing buildings over the last 50 years and 'converting his dreams into reality'. Constructing dairies, power plants, oil mills, mass-housing, pharmaceutical factories, academic institutes, which are all
What made you come back to India and start a business? How did the journey of RJP Infrastructure begin?
My love for my family and strong feelings of patriotism spurred me to surrender my Green Card and leave the luxury of my Chevrolet to return to India. I started exploring business opportunities using a two-wheeler in the extreme summers of Ahmedabad in the year 1968. After understanding the business landscape of the country, there was a deep aspiration to start my business and launched "M/s Ramendra J Parikh, Consulting Engineers & Contractors" in 1970 with a staff of 2 persons and no major liquidity. It all began with my first concrete mixer machine worth Rs. 12,500, after taking a loan from Canara Bank in 1970 to start a contract worth Rs. 5 lacs. In addition to this, there wasn't any background in the construction industry in the family.
How has the company's growth been and what is the future roadmap set ahead?
In this ever-competitive construction field, actively working for 50 years without any bad incident is itself an achievement. You will find hardly a few companies who are still in business for the last 50 years.
The reason behind this success is the dedication and commitment to client satisfaction, quality work, timely completion, and the confidence of the client once the job is entrusted to us. We have executed projects in six states of India, namely- Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Haryana are in the process of entering other states for taking up new challenges as well.
My 3rd generation is about to enter the field as well, and I am confident that they will endure the challenges, face them head-on and take my legacy to the next level.
In your professional journey so far, what are the milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction?
Becoming a part of Dr. Verghese Kurien's every major venture for the development of the nation by constructing buildings over the last 50 years and 'converting his dreams into reality'. Constructing dairies, power plants, oil mills, mass-housing, pharmaceutical factories, academic institutes, which are all
the backbone of a developing nation that is rising from the ashes.
My utmost satisfaction is that I could provide employment more than 1,000 families over the decades since the inception of the organization and the trust they have put in myself and my organization.
We have been able to secure some work orders even when we weren't the lowest in the price bid due to our workmanship and quality standards that we believe in maintaining as well as trust, confidence in the organization and the individual.
My preference is always towards the growth of the company than attaining personal gains. This attitude is the reason the company has been in the business activities for last 50 years. In the year 2012, we inaugurated our own business house/complex - RJP House, in the posh area of Prahladnagar, Ahmedabad. This growth from a single room office of 10ft x 15ft in 1971 to a 5-storeyed building today is a notable achievement.
Highlight the breakthrough projects accomplished so far
Since 1974, more than 50 projects have been executed for the dairy industry in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Haryana. We constructed Mother Dairy and established the largest milk processing unit of capacity of 20L liters/day at Faridabad and Rohtak in 2016.
Apart from the dairy industry, we did civil work of thermal power stations, constructed 3 major oil mills, built 12000 houses in Gujarat and MP. In the hospitality sector, we constructed the first 5-star hotel of Gujarat state-Taj Ummed.
Our contribution to the healthcare sector is immense with a total capacity of 1200 beds for Sterling hospital, general hospital at Limbdi, Wagad welfare hospital at Bhachau, and Cancer hospital in Siddhpur.
We worked for 12 Pharmaceutical factories like Intas, Glenmark, ZydusCadila, Cadila Healthcare, USV, and Unichem, Femicare, and others.
Ramendra J Parikh, Founder, RJP Infrastructure
RJP Infrastructure incepted in 1970 where Ramendrakumar Jethalal Parikh is the longest reigning director who is contributing enormously to the development of the company. He is an excellent management professional who is well known among his peers for his positive attitude for solving challenging problems.
My utmost satisfaction is that I could provide employment more than 1,000 families over the decades since the inception of the organization and the trust they have put in myself and my organization.
We have been able to secure some work orders even when we weren't the lowest in the price bid due to our workmanship and quality standards that we believe in maintaining as well as trust, confidence in the organization and the individual.
My preference is always towards the growth of the company than attaining personal gains. This attitude is the reason the company has been in the business activities for last 50 years. In the year 2012, we inaugurated our own business house/complex - RJP House, in the posh area of Prahladnagar, Ahmedabad. This growth from a single room office of 10ft x 15ft in 1971 to a 5-storeyed building today is a notable achievement.
Highlight the breakthrough projects accomplished so far
Since 1974, more than 50 projects have been executed for the dairy industry in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Haryana. We constructed Mother Dairy and established the largest milk processing unit of capacity of 20L liters/day at Faridabad and Rohtak in 2016.
Apart from the dairy industry, we did civil work of thermal power stations, constructed 3 major oil mills, built 12000 houses in Gujarat and MP. In the hospitality sector, we constructed the first 5-star hotel of Gujarat state-Taj Ummed.
Our contribution to the healthcare sector is immense with a total capacity of 1200 beds for Sterling hospital, general hospital at Limbdi, Wagad welfare hospital at Bhachau, and Cancer hospital in Siddhpur.
We worked for 12 Pharmaceutical factories like Intas, Glenmark, ZydusCadila, Cadila Healthcare, USV, and Unichem, Femicare, and others.
Ramendra J Parikh, Founder, RJP Infrastructure
RJP Infrastructure incepted in 1970 where Ramendrakumar Jethalal Parikh is the longest reigning director who is contributing enormously to the development of the company. He is an excellent management professional who is well known among his peers for his positive attitude for solving challenging problems.