Nearly two decades before Amul became the flag‑bearer of India’s cooperative movement in Gujarat, Kerala’s Kozhikode district saw the birth of the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS) in 1925. Founded by social reformer Vagbhatananda, the cooperative sought to provide work to unemployed labourers based on its motto of “Work with dignity, share collectively, serve the community.”

A little over 100 years later, it has grown into one of Kerala's largest construction organisations, delivering everything from bridges and highways to industrial parks and institutional buildings.

Now headquartered in Ernakulum, it is looking to expand beyond its home state and compete for private-sector infrastructure projects across India through its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) subsidiary, U-Sphere.

The timing is hardly accidental. India's infrastructure pipeline is broadening into commercial real estate, warehouses and AI-driven data centres, creating opportunities for companies with specialised construction capabilities.

U-Sphere believes its expertise in industrialised construction and the backing of its century-old parent position it to capitalise on that shift.

Yet ambition alone won’t be enough to make this expansion succeed. Outside Kerala, U-Sphere will be competing against some of India's biggest engineering companies—firms with deeper client relationships, larger balance sheets and established track records across private-sector infrastructure.

Betting Beyond Kerala Borders

ULCCS remains one of Kerala's largest construction players, with projects ranging from the Valiyazheekkal coastal bridge and the six-laning of the Talapady-Chengala stretch of National Highway 66 to the Cochin Special Economic Zone industrial park, the Government Engineering College in Alappuzha and the Iringal Craft Village.

Biju Mahima, CEO of U‑Sphere, told The Core that the company aims to leverage its parent arm’s expertise and human resources to “build for the people” in India and, eventually, overseas.

“U‑Sphere was created (in February 2025) because the parent arm wants to focus on innovative and futuristic construction technologies and make them accessible to the wider public. For instance, steel is not a new technology, but it is still not used properly in the construction industry. We aim to adopt the right technology for each project and bring the best solutions to the people.”

The company plans to focus on commercial real estate, warehouses and data centres while setting up fabrication facilities and skill-development centres to support expansion.

Rather than competing on conventional construction alone, it is betting that greater use of steel structures and composite materials such as expanded polystyrene panels can reduce construction time while improving efficiency and sustainability.

Funding, Mahima said, is unlikely to be a constraint for these plans.

“Funding is not a constraint because ULCCS is a large organisation and can invest as required. At this stage, we are assessing the market to understand how much work we can realistically acquire. Our targets are high, but we want to align investments with actual demand,” Mahima said.

Once a feasible opportunity is confirmed, the parent arm will invest accordingly.

For now, U‑Sphere is targeting private companies, though historically its portfolio has mostly comprised government projects.

The company has already finalised projects in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and is in advanced discussions in Vijayawada, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. The company plans to invest Rs 10 billion in Bengaluru as it readies to expand beyond Kerala, though it declined to share more details.

The bigger test will be whether geographic expansion translates into a steady pipeline of projects.

"There are enough opportunities in real estate and infrastructure," said a former chief executive of a leading EPC company. "But U-Sphere must win orders to justify expansion. Additional business requires winning orders and converting them into cash flows. What is the secret sauce U-Sphere has that will enable it to win additional orders outside Kerala and generate positive cash flows?"

Data Centre Push

An area the company is keen to enter is data centre construction, among India’s fastest-growing infrastructure segments.

According to real estate advisory firm JLL, capacity is projected to expand from nearly 1.6 GW in 2023 to over 5 GW by 2030, driven by cloud computing, enterprise digitisation, 5G expansion, fintech, and OTT growth.

Modern hyperscale facilities require specialised engineering, steel-intensive construction, integrated mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and shorter execution timelines—all areas where U-Sphere believes it can differentiate itself.

India’s broader infrastructure story is also embracing digitalisation, with investment flowing into digital infrastructure, battery storage and green hydrogen

“Investment growth [in infrastructure] is likely to remain strong at 45-50% over the current and next fiscals, akin to the growth seen in the preceding two,” observed Krishnan Sitaraman, chief ratings officer at the ratings agency Crisil. Investments in new‑age infrastructure such as data centres are projected to rise to nearly Rs 23-24 trillion by FY2030, from about Rs 10 trillion today.

A rapidly expanding market, however, does not necessarily make it easier for new entrants.

Diversified infrastructure giants, including Larsen & Toubro, Tata Projects, Shapoorji Pallonji and Hindustan Construction Co., are competing alongside specialists such as Sterling & Wilson Renewable Energy and KEC International in the segment.

Many bring decades of execution experience, established customer relationships and balance sheets capable of handling increasingly complex projects.

Is there still room for a new player?

"If U-Sphere can prove its credentials in pilot projects, word will spread quickly," said S Vasudevan, chief executive of Bengaluru-based consultancy AeroInfraStratgiX. "Successful delivery of a few marquee projects will embellish their reputation, giving them momentum in India and eventually overseas."

He argued that technological capability and cost competitiveness could help the company find a niche, particularly as industrialised construction gains wider acceptance.

Cooperative Edge

Winning work and growth in the sector often depends as much on client relationships, financial strength and the ability to maintain a steady order pipeline as it does on engineering capability.

That is where ULCCS believes its century-old cooperative model offers an advantage.

“We recently completed a 220,000 sq ft project in Thiruvananthapuram. The main construction took only eight to nine months, and the entire project, including the façade, was completed within 12 months. In many other parts of India, similar projects often take longer,” said Mahima.

He attributed the speed and efficiency to the cooperative's ownership structure, where the employees are also owners.

“This creates a strong sense of responsibility and alignment. We do not need to manage them; they come forward with solutions and take ownership of outcomes.”

Yet the cooperative model may also be a weakness in an intensely competitive industry.

“The company is in the cooperative sector, with no single promoter driving the business 24x7. Therefore, that sense of ownership might be missing in a cooperative entity. Why are there not more Amuls in the country?” asked the former EPC CEO.

India's largest engineering companies have typically been promoter-led or professionally managed businesses. U-Sphere, by contrast, is attempting to scale a governance model that has few precedents in the country's infrastructure sector.

ULCCS points to its own record as evidence that the model can endure.

In 100 years, the cooperative has completed more than 7,500 projects in Kerala. Last year, it was listed among 31 sites of significance to the global cooperative movement by the International Cooperative Alliance in Brazil, with Amul the only other Indian entity featured.

In May, several countries showed interest in adapting elements of the ULCCS model at a UN conference in New York. With 18,000 workers, it is now Asia’s largest labour cooperative.

Selling More Than Construction

The company is also trying to distinguish itself through its construction methods.

U‑Sphere specialises in steel structures and pre‑engineered buildings. It plans to set up fabrication units in Karnataka and wherever else it wins projects. This follows a global shift towards Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA), in which structural components are manufactured off-site before being assembled at project locations.

Firms such as Laing O’Rourke (UK/Australia), Bouygues Construction (France) and Skanska (Sweden) have adopted such techniques to build mega-infrastructure assets such as transport hubs, warehousing, hotels and airports.

This can shorten construction schedules, reduce on-site labour requirements and also reduce waste and lower emissions associated with transporting materials and prolonged site activity.

“Industrialised manufacturing allows assets to be built off‑site, moved, and quickly assembled,” said Vasudevan. “Pricing can be adjusted depending on project size, and economies of scale take effect for larger projects. While undercutting exists, clients increasingly perceive long‑term value in newer techniques.”

Another pillar of U‑Sphere’s strategy is workforce development.

It plans to establish centres in project locations to train manpower. According to the National Skill Development Corp., India will need about 100 million construction workers by 2030, up from 71 million in 2023.

While most of the country’s large EPC players operate centralised training institutes or academies, U‑Sphere’s model of embedding centres directly at project sites marks a distinctive approach.

The Real Test

Given the pedigree of its century‑old parent, U‑Sphere’s real challenge lies in building a steady project pipeline.

As the former EPC CEO said, “The bigger challenge is not execution but business development and order sourcing.”

The real test, therefore, is maintaining positive cash flows as the company expands. “It’s like a running train; you need to get on first, and then keep moving. Orders are typically won in competitive bids, and it’s not easy to convince a private‑sector player to consider you if they already have established subcontractors.”

Meanwhile, entrenched players such as L&T, Tata Projects and Hindustan Construction Co. are moving beyond conventional construction into specialised domains like nuclear energy and space technology.

According to numbers shared with The Core, U‑Sphere’s order book has surged to Rs 5 billion in FY2025‑26 from Rs 500 million a year earlier, a 900% jump driven by contracts in commercial real estate, warehousing and data centres.

This is encouraging, but competition is also intensifying. New entrants such as J Kumar Infraprojects, DRA Infracon and Supreme Infrastructure, once subcontractors, have been consolidating their presence in the same space.

As the EPC CEO cautioned, “Only a few construction companies are truly national; most remain regional.”

U-Sphere may well have arrived at the right moment, armed with an unusual ownership model and a century of construction experience. What matters now is how effectively it can secure the right opportunities to keep its pan‑India ambitions on track.