‘Man of steel with the heart of gold’ Family carries on legacy of SCT Welding, Laser & Manufacturing Co. founder who came to Canada with little, built business with annual revenue of $12M Made in Manitoba
By: Aaron Epp Posted: 5:45 PM CST Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025

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This article was published 02/01/2025 (651 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If one were to liken Rajakulasingam (Raj) Kulathungam to a celebrity, Arnold Schwarzenegger wouldn’t be a bad comparison. Both were born in 1947, became competitive bodybuilders and left their home countries to pursue new opportunities in North America.

While Schwarzenegger left Austria to become a successful actor in Los Angeles, Kulathungam moved to Winnipeg, where he eventually founded SCT Welding, Laser & Manufacturing Co., from Sri Lanka.

Kulathungam started the company with four employees and a few rented welding machines in 1992, naming it after his eldest children: Shane, Charlene and Trisha.

SCT has since earned a reputation as an industry leader in custom metal fabrication for a variety of industry needs, including automotive, electrical, transit and agriculture.

In the last eight years, the company has doubled its annual revenue to $12 million. SCT employs 75 people at its 87,000-square-foot headquarters at 906 King Edward St. An additional 9 employees work for Strong Electric Manufacturing, a sister company located next door Kulathungam started in 2016.

After a two-year battle with stomach cancer, Kulathungam died in June 2022 at the age of 74. His wife, Ranjini, now serves as president of SCT, with Shane, Charlene and Trisha involved with the company’s day-to-day operations. (Raj and Ranjini’s fourth child, Jessica, joined the family after SCT was started and lives in Toronto.)

Though he hasn’t stepped in the building for 2 1/2 years, Kulathungam’s presence is still felt at SCT. Whether it’s the shop floor he walked through regularly to connect with employees, the on-site gym where he worked out until his final days or the board room — which includes a framed Manitoba Business magazine from October 2003 with his photo on the cover — Raj is everywhere.

“It’s been two years and it’s like he’s never gone,” says Charlene, SCT chief operating officer.

“We get to see him every day in everything he created,” adds Trisha, chief marketing officer. “He was the man of steel with the heart of gold.”

After arriving in Winnipeg with just a Grade 10 education and little more than the clothes on his back in 1972, Kulathungam pursued schooling to become a welder. In addition to supporting his wife and children, making money to help his nine brothers and sisters was top of mind.

Purchasing a convenience store in 1986 taught Kulathungam what it took to be a business owner and make the right connections with banks and vendors. He continued welding on the side and started SCT on July 1, 1992. Eventually, he sold the convenience store.

“My dad always said, ‘We’ll figure it out.’ There are always problems, but there is always a way to solve them.”–Daughter Trisha

Over the years, Kulathungam worked hard to make SCT a one-stop-shop for every step of the metal fabrication process. Fair pricing, quality work and fast delivery are the pillars he built the business on, Trisha says, adding her father took pride in taking on work others said couldn’t be done.

“My dad always said, ‘We’ll figure it out,’” says Trisha, who recalls one of her father’s oft-used phrases: “There are always problems, but there is always a way to solve them.”

Kulathungam took the discipline, focus and competitive mindset he learned from bodybuilding and used it in business. Bodybuilding also taught him resilience.

“He was the guy who worked out every single day,” Trisha says of her father, who participated in his last competition when he was 65. “Even when he had cancer, he was still doing his workouts and it made him feel really good.”

Kulathungam was smart, savvy and could have a firm hand, but at the same time he was “a teddy bear” for whom love and kindness were paramount. He felt responsible not just for 90 employees, but for 90 families — that meant offering quality long-term jobs with opportunities for advancement. He made a special effort to employ newcomers.

“He knew what it was like to come here with nothing and need a job to feed a family,” Trisha says. “He was always inspired by people that came here that needed that first opportunity and he always opened the door.”

Marek Robak, plant manager at SCT, joined the company in 1997, seven years after moving from Poland to Canada. He remembers Kulathungam as someone who was friendly to everyone, always smiling and joking.

“He was on the shop floor every day, talking to people,” Robak says. “There’s no day I can remember where he didn’t do that. He always found the time.”

When Robak’s father died in 2003, Kulathungam showed up at his house with flowers and a gift basket.

“He was always supporting you and guiding you,” says Robak, who worked in numerous roles at the company before becoming plant manager. “He believed in me.”

One interaction with Raj Kulathungam could be life changing, according to Neville Hamilton.

The Steinbach electrician, who is originally from Jamaica, met him while working on Charlene’s house. The two started talking, and Kulathungam told Hamilton his story.

Hamilton left the conversation so encouraged that within a month, he quit his job and started his own company, Omega.

“Raj is the kind of person that ignites you to do something with your dreams and desires,” Hamilton says. “So once you’re in a conversation with this guy, you can’t help but be inspired.”

Putting your employees first is important, Hamilton recalls Kulathungam saying, because if you treat your employees well, they will care about what they’re doing and create quality work for the customer.

“I remember that conversation like it was yesterday just because of how he broke everything down.”

Kulathungam’s cancer diagnosis came as a shock to his family, especially considering how he prioritized health.

While he experienced quite a bit of pain at times, Kulathungam kept a positive attitude and worked almost until the day he died, the family says. He, Ranjini and their children spoke often in his final years about their plans to expand SCT and Strong Electric — plans the family is currently executing.

“He always told us that if you can believe it, you can achieve it,” Charlene says. “Now it’s up to us to continue that legacy.”

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca