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Józef Urban was born on November 29, 1935 in Vilnius, the city with grand patriotic and religion traditions. In 1945, due to imminent repressions for the independence activity of his father, his parents decided to leave Poland. As the student of the gymnasium in Szamotuły, since 1951 he organised a banned youth organisation "Błękitni Rycerze" (Blue Knights), which advocated fight with the dictatorship of Stalin and Bierut. For his independence activity, he was arrested on January 17, 1952 by Urząd Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego (Public Security Office) and sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment by the Military District Court in Poznań (the sentence was mitigated due to amnesty). He was rehabilitated in 1990's. In 1962, Józef Urban established his own Mechanics and Locksmithery Workshop, which years later was transformed into Przedsiębiorstwo Wielobranżowe "URBAN" and at the same time joined Spółdzielnia Rzemieślnicza Blacharsko - Instalacyjna in Poznań (Tinsmithing and Installations Cooperative). In the meantime, he started MSc studies in UAM in Poznań in hydrology and hydrography. Since the very beginning of the studies, he was actively participating in the social life of UAM university. He organised large scale non-currency exchange with the former Yugoslavia (present day Serbia, Croatia and Macedonia) for students, young scientist staff and members of Spółdzielnia Rzemieślnicza Blacharsko - Instalacyjna(Tinsmithing and Installations Cooperative). He organised and published in print the lecture notes necessary for working students. He prepared and realised foreign trainee placement for UAM students. For the achievements in studies and for social work for the benefit of academic circles, he was awarded in 1977 with the medal of UAM in Poznań. In 1982 he established a civil partnership with the eldest son Józef-Andrzej, expanding it in 1987 to include the youngest son - Jacek. In 1990, Józef-Andrzej left the Partnership and established his own Construction-Installation-Trade Company "URAN". Since the very beginning of his own economic activity, he was the member of the Tinsmithing and Installations Cooperative in Poznań, being in 1970's the Vice-president of the Management Board and since 1989 the President of the Management Board of the Cooperative. During the time of change of the political system in Poland between 1989 and 1992, he took very effective actions aiming at maintaining the existing Cooperative, adjusting it and its operations to new conditions and ways of organisation and work practices. (One has to bear in mind that at that time many craftsmen Cooperatives went into bankruptcy or disappeared from the market). Together with his colleagues, he reorganised the operations of the Cooperative through winding up the procurement and establishing an accounting office for the members in 1991, with very wide program of operation of the modified Cooperative. At the same time, on the foundation of the Cooperative and its members, he established a new economic organisation of trade profile: BIMS Spółka z o.o., in terms of sector adjusted to the needs of the Cooperative on the grounds of commercial law. The very dynamic growth of this installation warehouse attracted the attention of foreign capital, in result of which a new company was established - BIMS-Plus, a warehouse of national scale, with several dozen branches in the whole Poland, where Józef Urban, as one of the Cofounders, became the first Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Bims-Plus Group in Poland and was the Chairman till his death on February 29, 2000. Piotr Kuźmiak, the Chief Accountant, described the beginnings of BIMS-Plus in the article entitled: "An Intensive Course on Capitalism", published in the study: "40 years of Tinsmithing and Installations Cooperative in Poznań 1958 - 1998", Poznań, November 1998, page 60: "In years 1993-1998, out of the dreams of capitalism of a handful of proud men from the Cooperative, backed with the capital and logistics of their German partner, a huge commercial organisation was created, employing more than 600 people, holding multimillion capital, able to deliver anywhere in Poland a product chosen from more than 100 000 assortment items from heating, sanitary and household technology as well as air conditioning and ventilation." Moreover, in 1992, Józef Urban was one of the founders of the Polish Corporation of Sanitary, Heating, Gas and Air Conditioning Technology, in 1994 called into being its Branch in Poznań, of which he became the President and at the same time he was the member of the National Board of PKTSGGiK in Warsaw. In his exceptionally rich and varied professional carrier, Józef Urban was also, among others, a teacher in the Complex of Vocational Schools of the Ministry of Regional Management and Environment Protection, Member of the Board of the Chamber of Crafts, a Member of the National Board of Cooperatives. Moreover, he exercised many other functions, impossible to be included here. For his social and professional activity he was awarded with the highest state distinctions, including: Krzyż Kawalerski Orderu Odrodzenia Polski (Knight Cross of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland), Złoty Krzyż Zasługi (Golden Cross of Merit), craftsman awards: Golden and Silver Medal of Jan Kiliński, Silver and Golden Badge "For Merits in Advancement of Wielkopolska Craftsmanship", Craftsmanship Badge of Honour and many more distinctions. He was also the candidate to the title "Craftsman of the Century" in the Plebiscite "Craftsman and Tradesman of the Century", organised by the editors of "Super Kontakty" - the magazine of Craftsmen, Tradesmen, Entrepreneurs, however his death on February 29, 2000 made it impossible for him to participate in this Plebiscite. After his death, The Associates of Bims-Plus Polska Group included in the Obituary the following description of the activity of Józef Urban: "We liked and admired Mr. Józef Urban for the recusancy and persistence, with which he strived to make our clients, mostly craftsmen and entrepreneurs, satisfied and profiting from their cooperation with our companies. He was a reliable, loyal and good partner in business. He was very hot-hearted and therefore he reacted spontaneously and vividly to everything around him, but at the same time, he cold-bloodedly and with due prudence calculated everything that had impact on the life of an individual, in particular a craftsman. This is why we felt respect and trust towards him. We say farewell to the man to who a lot of us owe a lot. To Associates he was a Partner in business and a Friend, to management boards of companies he was a kind and demanding Counsel, to employees - an uncompromising Supervisor over their customer service. To the clients, who in most part are craftsmen, he was a heated Advocate of their interests. We express our sorrow that on this hard-bitten road of building the strength of our companies we will miss for all times the hot and devoted heart of this man...". The priest Zygmunt Thimm, the Rector of the Parish in which Józef Urban lived, in the intra-parish letter: "Michael", no. 2(64) of 2002, gave the following summary of the life of Józef Urban: "For his work, his heart and the genuine model of total devotion to other men, he was lavished love and esteem. He held many high positions, and his modesty and simplicity earned him respect." From 1955 he was married to Maria, maiden name Jankowska, with her he had three sons: Józef-Andrzej, Wojciech and Jacek. Moreover, he lived to cherish three granddaughters: Magda, Kasia and Hania, one grandson - Józek and one greatgranddaughter - Joasia. |
The founder and the first owner of Przedsiębiorstwo Wielobranżowe "URBAN" was Józef Urban, a graduate of one of the most renowned universities in Poland - Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Faculty of Biology and Earth Sciences.