Mangalore: Lancy Constructions Awarded ISO 9001

Profile by- Concepta Alva, Mangalore ( with inputs from H.R. Alva-Maria Ads)

Mangalore, Apr 10: Lancy constructions, Mangalore's leader in the construction field has obtained the ISO 9001:2000  certification from  Pery Johnson USA..  Although there are a couple of promoters and builders in Mangalore  who have  achieved the  ISO certification, Lancy Constructions is the  only full-fledged  construction company in Mangalore to
receive this certification.

Lancy Construction, established in 1973  under the leadership of Lancy Mascarenhas built up its reputation associating  with diversified clientele on the pillars of reliability, resourcefulness, timely completion and quality construction both within the State as well as  neighbouring Goa & Kerala states.

On this momentous day,  Concepta Fernandes, profiles Lancy Mascarenhas  and highlights his personal as well his organizational achievements.

Shining star of Mangalore’s Construction Industry-Lancy Mascarenhas

Mangalore, also called ‘Monglur’, ‘Kodial’, ‘Kudla’ by the locals is a unique coastal town. Being the headquarters of Dakshina Kannada District it is connected by road, rail, water and airways, is rightly called the gateway of Karnataka. Mangalore is surrounded by virgin beaches and swaying palms, rivers, rivulets and streams, coconut and areca plantations, lush green paddy fields, dense forests, all this and much more. It has the distinction of being the cradle of banking industry and seat of learning.  Great visionaries, thinkers and leaders have emerged from this part and have been spread across the world. Mangalore perhaps is only second to Bangalore in Karnataka in terms of growth. It provides the metro ambience with rural setting.

It is also rated as one among the ten fastest growing cities in the country. It is estimated that nearly one lakh outstation students are pursuing education in Mangalore. Industrial houses and firms in India and abroad have fallen in love with Mangalore. People are on toes to invest and own property in Mangalore. Land prices in Mangalore are sky -rocketing. A number of commercial and residential complexes are coming up in every nook and corner of the city.

It is widely felt that the Mangalorean Catholic Community which once had good hold over trade and commerce, owned large landed property, headed renowned institutions, held high posts and social status is now facing a set back. In this scenario, our own catholic brother is standing tall in the field of Construction and promotion just like the sky -scrapers and high rise buildings he has put up. He is shining like the morning star in the Coastal Districts. He has made the community proud. He is none other than Lancy Mascarenhas of Lancy Constructions.

A small seed sown in 1973 has emerged as a vast tree with a multitude of branches. Use of only reliable material, Quality control, keen and strict supervision of work at every level, meeting the deadline, winning and retaining the trust of the clients- these are the five principles always adhered to in the Construction mission of Lancy. And these principles hold good to every job, be it a small house or a huge complex. Houses, schools, colleges, places of worship of different communities, auditoria, commercial and residential complexes, and the latest Malls- the list is long.

Childhood and Education: Born on 13th Feb. 1949, Lancy is the second of the six children of Francis and Carmine Mascarenhas of Derebail. Had his early education in Milagres High School, Mangalore. Later he joined Karnataka Polytechnic for a course in Electrical Engineering and came out with flying colours. He was a good athlete and volley ball player and participated at the state level competitions. He has won several prizes during his education and later. He also served as the coach of the Volley ball team of St. Agnes College, Mangalore.

Inland Ebony

Entry into Construction Field: Year 1973. Drainage system was being introduced in Mangalore those days. Lancy was a licensed plumber looking for work offers. He started getting small job orders like construction of toilets and bathrooms, and drainage related works. And while undertaking these jobs in the existing buildings cracks in the walls was a common problem. Lancy was asked to attend them too and he worked to the satisfaction of his clients. Slowly from plumbing contractor Lancy turned out to be a Civil Contractor. Honesty is a virtue Lancy had accomplished from childhood. He worked hard with sincerity in every job be it big or small. But people of Mangalore could not trust him fully. How could they trust the capacity of a young man of just 24 years? But undeterred Lancy worked hard and harder in every small and sundry offer.

Year 1982 brought Lancy to limelight. Lancy was offered the contract for construction of ‘Dhanyavad’ Building of Komal’s Group at Hampankatta junction. It was a turning point in Lancy’s life. With the completion of attractive and unique Dhanyavad Building, ‘Lancy Constructions’ became a household name in Mangalore. Later on in the eighties Adarsh Hotel, Ashirvad Building, Kunil Centre and many more buildings in Mangalore were built by Lancy. In 1984, he constructed ‘Pompei Shade Apartments’ and that marked Lancy’s entry into apartments field.

By 1986 Lancy started getting offers from outside D.K.Dist. St. Joseph’s High School Hassan was the first project outside the Dist. ‘Puneeth Sadan’ the Seminary building of Karwar was the first biggest project outside the Dist.. Simultaneously, he started getting church construction  orders across and outside Mangalore Diocese. St. Lawrence Church at Bondel was the first one constructed by Lancy. Then was the Bajpe church, in the shape of an aeroplane. To this date he has constructed over 25 churches, and 17 among them are in Uttar Kannada Dist. the Infant Jesus Church at Bikarnakatta, Mangalore built according to the plan of architect Mr. Dharmaraj has given him great satisfaction. He has completed 12 projects in Bangalore including Loyola and St. Joseph’s Indian High School.

1990s was the decade that saw Lancy at the height of entrepreneurship. Lancy Constructions operated in 4 Divisions, viz, Mangalore, Bangalore, Uttar Kannada and Goa with 66 projects at a time. Later he started concentrating more on the native twin districts- D.K. and Udupi and he is most sought after builder. Most of the promoters in this region are queuing up to give their projects to Lancy and that is the witness of Lancy’s   sincerity and trust -worthiness.

The Brand Lancy Constructions: The small firm started in 1973 with a few employees has grown leaps and bounds over the years. It boasts of 25 Engineers, 150 supervisors and over 2000 employees who earn their daily bread from here. The firm owns all the modern equipment to put up huge complexes and sky scrapers without delay. They are the first locals to own a ready mix concrete plant in Mangalore.

St. Joseph’s Hassan, Rosario Mangalore, St. John’s Shankerpura near Udupi are a few of the 25 School Buildings, a number of Convents, Auditoria and other structures of various sizes and shapes are a few examples of excellence of this brand. Most of the buildings of St. Joseph’s Engineering College, Vamanjoor are built by Lancy. M.B.A. College, Boys Hostel and Girls Hostel Buildings are under construction at SJEC campus. At present in Mangalore Lancy is constructing the buildings of 4 Enginnering Colleges, 2 International Schools and the Administrative Block of St. Aloysius College. Lancy Constructions are the regular builders for Mohtisham, In-Land, Landlinks, S.M.R.Group, Essel Builders and other promoters.

The EMPIRE building on Mahatma Gandhi Road in Mangalore and other Commercial complexes speak volumes about the builder’s capacity.  Essel Centre, now coming up on Mahatma Gandhi Road is a prominent landmark. The last floor of the Mangalore City Corporation Building and beautification of the front portion has been done by Lancy. Renovation of the Town Hall has had great deal of work by Lancy. Unity Health Complex Nursing School was built by Lancy.

Thousands of families live in the residential complexes constructed by Lancy. Recently inaugurated Inland’s ‘Ebony’ on Kadri Road is round shaped architectural marvel, the rarest and first of its kind in Mangalore. Construction work of  ‘Ashoka Paradise’ at Ashoknagar, Urwa consisting of 260 flats and ‘Ashoka Excellency’ near Urwa Market with 120 flats are in progress.                          

Lancy has built big and small houses numbering in hundreds, a number of villas and bungalows. Lancy has the goodwill of finishing the job in hand on time even when his promoter/client faced financial crunch.

Lancy is truly ‘Ajaathashathru’: He is popular and most trusted man among all communities across the undivided D.K. District. He has contributed in his own way to bridge the barriers between various communities in the region. He has constructed 4 mosques including Suralpady and Ahmed Mosque of Thumbe. Lancy has to his credit the construction of 3 temples including the Panchalingeshwara Temple of Bajal, Mangalore, and temple of Vaishya Community of Haldipura. ‘Sangha Niketan’ of Mannagudda is the Mangalore centre of Raashtreeya Swayam Sevaka  Sangha. Multi-storied auditorium complex now under construction here is carried out by Lancy. This is just one example of the capacity, popularity and trust- worthiness of this man. Greatness of this humble person lies in the fact that whenever big programmes were conducted in Mangalore, Lancy has shown his goodwill regardless of faith, by erecting huge pendals and stage with his own men and materials.

Sister Concerns of Lancy Constructions:

Several concerns have emerged under the  Lancy Constructions umbrella as follows.

• Eljen Promoters and Builders:  Promoters of commercial and residential buildings. They construct and sell independent houses too.
• Nishaal Associates are the architects, engineers and interior designers of the Eljen Promoters. Lancy’s eldest daughter Nishaal, an architect and her husband Reuben D’Sliva, an engineer are the partners of this concern. They are the designers of many structures promoted by Eljen Promoters.
• Lancy ConstructionsReady Mix Concrete: Instant concrete mixers, manufacturing industry of concrete door and window frames, pre-cast concrete blocks
• Lancy Constructions Fibretech Doors: Fibre doors for bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.
• Lanshowel Earthmovers: Levelling of sites and moving soil. Consists of 8 pocklanes and JCBs.
• Lanwall Blocks: Manufacturers of hollow wall blocks.
• Lanlocks: Manufaturing of interlocks and pavement blocks.

Honours and Felicitations:

Lancy is a great person from our community who has put up skyscrapers and huge complexes yet down to earth and simple person. He has never run after honours and awards. But awards and honours have been conferred on him. Prestigious among them is the ‘Rachana Entrepreneur of the year 2006 Award’.

Lancy’s Family: Lancy married Jacintha D’Souza of Anjelore on 15th November 1976. The couple is made for each other in the true sense of the phrase. Jessybai plays the role of a home-maker and an entrepreneur with ease. She looks after Lanwall Blocks and Lanlocks. They have 3 daughters. Eldest Nishaal, an architect is married to Reuben D’Silva, an engineer and they have 2 kids. Younger daughters, Nilima and Niyola are studying in St. Aloysius College, Mangalore. Lancy’s favorite pass-time is the quality time spent with the family. Earlier when the construction projects were spread across the state there were ample opportunities for touring with the family members. Now they visit some foreign country every year and thus visited quite many countries.

Lancy – An epitome of dedication:: Lancy who entered the construction sector in 1973 in a small way has grown tall in this field just like the structures he has put up. But people close to him feel that he is the same cool guy with same attitude and simple way of life. Even now he visits the construction sites everyday as early as 6.30am, for nearly 1 and 1/2 hours, at least 5 sites in one stretch. He closely monitors the work in every site personally.  Then between 8.00 and 9.30 am in the office he interacts with the supervisors of all the buildings and takes stock of the situation and gives them proper guidelines. He is in the office till 2.00pm. Between 3.00 and 6.00pm he visits the sites and factories in Baikampady. Again works at the  office between 6.00 and 8.30pm

Lancy has been striving hard for the last 34 years with a hectic schedule of  over 14 hours every day, 6 days of the week. He has earned enough for his family through hard work and dedication. He does not think of retirement, considering the number of people dependent on him. Almost 2000 families directly and many more indirectly earn their livelihood from Lancy Constructions. Lancy says if everyone has the desire to work hard, his life will be successful. According to him, God’s grace, courage, hard work, good luck and being able to command respect from colleagues and employees are the five essentials of ‘success mantra.’

Kind and large hearted, soft spoken and farsighted, Lancy is one of the finest entrepreneurs of Mangalorean Catholic community. He has constructed many buildings for various institutions ensuring durability, economy and deadline. While doing so, he has contributed his might to every good cause.

Lancy’s sincerity, commitment and dedication are the virtues worth following which have earned him huge fans irrespective of caste or religion. He has been successful in commanding respect from the Government officials across the state, diplomats and people’s representatives for the quality of work of his brand. He has proved that sincerity and trust-worthiness are the virtues to be inculcated for long run success.

Lancy is in great demand across and outside the district, more so in lieu of the faster growth of the region. Blueprints of huge projects are on Lancy’s table for “Yes, I do”. Going by the trends one cannot but believe that best is yet to come from this great person and his concerns. I wish Lancy and his brand ‘Lancy Constructions’ greater success in the days to come.

Lancy Constructions Group of Companies
Office: Holy Family Castle, Nehru Avenue Road, Lalbagh,
Mangalore – 575 003
Tel: +91-824-2453151, 4273154
Mob: 9880312438, 9972098284
E-mail: eljen_promoters@yahoo.com
Website: www.eljenpromoters.com