Growing The Family Legacy
Chiranjiv Patel could have done his own thing to make a mark for himself in business, as is often witnessed in many business families nowadays. In fact, he almost did that when he started life as an entrepreneur at the age of 23 with his own chemicals business.
But the call of the family business prevailed when he decided to carry forward the legacy by taking the family business — PC Snehal Group of Companies — to newer heights. The family business is known for constructing more than 250 iconic structures nationwide, which reflect the culture and heritage of the city they are located in.
The PCS Group, which he now heads, boasts of such infrastructural landmarks in Gujarat as the Manijalpur Sports Complex in Vadodara, BRTS Janmarg, Institute for Plasma Research and the Gujarat University Convention and Exhibition Centre in Ahmedabad, Bindu Sarovar in Siddhpur, among others.
“Until I joined my company, we only liaisoned with government infrastructure projects, which I felt restricted the scope of the work done by the company. When I stepped in, our company started taking up private infrastructure projects. My first project was around Rs 200 crore, which, I believe, had a major impact on the company’s diversification in private infrastructure. Another change that I went in for was when I started working on joint venture projects and expanded our operations from two states to almost seven states now. This gave enormous boost to the turnover as well as opened new doors for us,” states Patel, in response to queries sent by BW Businessworld over email.
However, PC Snehal Group continues to be well established in the government infrastructure space by virtue of having built structures like sports complexes, hospitals, flyovers, underpasses, water distribution networks, drainage systems and power projects.
As part of Patel’s strategy, the group brought in joint venture partners and encouraged old employees to become associate partners and lead those projects by giving them a share in the profits, thus ensuring great results and faster growth.
It is to Patel’s credit that the company, which till 2004 was only working in Ahmedabad, ventured out of the city and by 2010 out of Gujarat state in search of newer and bigger projects. It also entered into contracts for design, build and maintenance of water distribution and drainage projects across nine states in India, making it the fastest growing infrastructure company in water distribution and drainage projects. With an order book of Rs 1,450 crore, the group registered a topline of Rs 350 crore in the last financial year. The company will be going for an IPO next year.
“With the widening horizon, I can see the company working across India in the next five years with a lot of innovation in technology and leadership,” says Patel.
A third-generation entrepreneur, Patel, who was born and raised in Ahmadabad, is computer science engineer from PES Institute of Technology, Bangalore and holds an MBA in International Marketing from Manipal University. A founder-trustee of Karma Foundation, Patel also serves on various boards and is council member (Gujarat) and chairman (membership committee – Gujarat), FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry). He is the founding member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation’s Gujarat chapter, which currently touches the lives of 49 entrepreneurs in Gujarat.
When asked about his message for others, he responded: “It’s not just about generating revenues. Real success and happiness also comes from getting recognised in society. When you give back (to society), not only in terms of money but in terms of your precious time, that will be your ultimate success, which provides immense happiness to you as well as motivates your peers as well. This will help the youth to navigate a new direction of life.”
