High-end brands keep local export firm going

The export industry may still be at a slowdown right now and orders are down to only a few hundreds, making others suspend operations. This Cebuano exporter, however, refused to give up and is still actively getting orders from high-end brands in the US.

Eric Ng Mendoza, who owns Mastercraft Philippines Inc., said the slowdown of orders hadn’t greatly affected the firm’s revenues because its market was high-end furniture products.

Mendoza however has to cut down his 2,000 workforce to just 60 workers and close two of his four factories and consolidate their operations in his biggest factory in barangay Tabok in Mandaue City.

“That’s one way to ensure your company still survives and still provide employment to your people although fewer (in number),”he said.

The fewer orders forced him to shut down operations of his Riverside and Pagsabungan plants and incorporate these plants’ operations in his Tabok plant, which sat on a 13,000 square meter area.

“We forgo of the two to minimize overhead expenses. We also have to let go of some of our people so that we ensure that the company stays. And when the time comes that export is good again, they can still have a place to come back to and work,” he said.

At present Mastercraft Philippines, Inc. has only about 60 workers doing their orders from high-end brands like Ethan Allen, Henry Link Trading Co. by Lexington Home Brand, and The Platt Collection.

“Some of the products we make here like the Eagle’s Eye Accent Table for Henry Link is priced at least $3,500 there which is among our high value products,” he said.

He said the firm’s representatives continued to join international shows to meet clients and market their products.

Last week, Mendoza left for the U.S. to join a show in Highpoint North Carolina called the International Home Furnishing Market Show which runs until tomorrow.

He said he was hoping to meet prospective clients in the show and get orders from them.

“We do a lot of design development here with my staff and we try to incorporate different materials from indigenous to man-made materials like antique glasses which most American brands like,” he said.

Mendoza said that he had also diversified his businesses so that while the export company was running slow, his other businesses could help maintain a healthy financial record for the whole group.

“One new business that I’m now working on is an entertainment lifestyle business where I can also put in some of my export products on display,” he said.

He is also considering marketing his furniture pieces to high-end resort and hotel brands in the country including those in Cebu.

“While I don’t really market locally, the resort and hotel brands coming in can also be a good market for us considering we have high-end furniture that will suit their brands,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza created Mastercraft Philippines in 1993, a firm which specializes in wrought iron for export. Since then, the company has grown to become one of the trusted manufacturers of high-end furniture shops in America.

“My father started a business called Mendco Development Corp. in 1989 which is into metal works. Mastercraft Philippines, Inc. was created as a company that produces special metal products catering to the huge export market,” said Mendoza, who is also the president of the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

His first factory in barangay Opao sat on a small 3,000 square-meter lot.

Mendoza said it was a small production plant in barangay Opao, Mandaue City with about 500 production crew working on their different orders then.

“It was a picture of a very busy plant then,” he said.

Soon they expanded with three more production plants specializing in different operations.

“We had four plants located in Opao, Tabok, Riverside and Pagsabungan. Each of these plants has specializations like foundry for casting of metal brass, another one is doing wood factory, another for stained glasses and the last one for putting all the pieces together to come up with the furniture piece,” he said.

During the time when the business peaked, the firm employed 2,000 people to keep up with the large number of orders.

“We used to ship three containers in one day but now we only ship three to four containers in a month but that is still a good thing for us,” he said.

Like most local exporters, Mendoza is optimistic that the industry will soon recover as most economies in major markets are also recovering.