 |
| Balakrishnan Nambiar, Manikkoth, Kalyat, Kannur |
|
Download Database of featured talents. (Excel file) talents. (Excel file, |
When Manikkoth Balakrishnan Nambiar landed in Mumbai in 1964 as a young man, he had as his resources Rs.50, a diploma in Civil Engineering and perhaps more important, a zest to learn and excel. No wonder he was not satisfied with having been selected as one of the 3 successful candidates by Military Engineering Service from among 3000 job-seekers.
He quit the job after 1 year and joined a private construction company, Billimore, with a starting salary of Rs.250 per month. Seeing his hardwork and dedication, the company increased his pay to Rs.350 within 3 months. Declining many overseas offers, Nambiar continued to learn the nuts and bolts of construction industry by serving this company.
In 1974, after completing about 18 big projects, he teamed up with 2 friends to start Soman Associates, a construction company. He remembers that after contributing Rs.10000 as partner, his asset in hand was just Rs.750.
Although the company won a few tenders, lack of cohesion led to his exit from the venture. Thus with Rs.5 lakhs obtained from Soman Associates, he started Sreyas Constructions in Lonavala.
What followed was a period of growth for the company. With sincereity and honesty as core values, Nambiar was able to lead Sreyas to greater and greater heights. Some of the more important projects carried out by the company include World Religion Temple for Sri Ramakrishna Matt, Amby Valley for Sahara, Tata Research Centre, Centurian Hotel, Usha Ispat buildings at Sawantvadi etc.
There are 2 directors in the company to represent workers. He has brought cooks from Kannur to prepare good food for his workers. The same food is served to engineers and workers at the project sites.
In 2000 the company was renamed as Milleneum Engineers. Many awards have come his way, notably Builders Assoiciation Award for Ramakrishna Matt construction. The construction of United World College won half-a-dozen international awards in the field of architecture.
Courtesy:
N.Sreejith,
Mathrubhumi, October 24, 2005
Contributed by: Administrator
