Thursday, December 13, 2007 2 Cebu entrepreneurs land in RP’s most outstanding list
THE world-class entrepreneurial skills of new generation Cebuano businessmen continue to gain recognition.
This, as Entrepreneur Philippines magazine, in its November 2007 issue, awarded world-renowned furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue and Basic Graphics Inc. (BGI) chief executive officer Edmun Liu.
Cobonpue and Liu have been included in this year’s 10 Most Outstanding Entrepreneurs, an annual listing by Entrepreneur magazine.
Cobonpue and Liu were recognized for their “excellence in the field of business and entrepreneurship.”
“Their inclusion in this year’s list affirms the innate ability of home-grown Cebuano talents to provide innovative products and services that are at par not only with national but international standards as well,” read a statement furnished to Sun.Star Cebu.
Cobonpue manages the furniture business of his family, Interior Crafts of the Islands Inc. His work has been recognized nationally and internationally, and has attracted Hollywood personalities like actor Brad Pitt.
“I’m practically the only Asian marketing my own brand name. But with competition so intense now, furniture is no longer just a design game; furniture makers now also have to compete in terms of brand,” he told Entrepreneur Philippines.
The furniture designer received the Design for Asia Award in 2005 and the 2002 Golden Shell Award.
Cobonpue, who teaches industrial design at the University of the Philippines-Cebu campus, is also involved in Movement 8, an alliance of top Filipino designers that aims to make the Philippines the “Milan of Asia.”
Liu, on the other hand, heads one of the leading printing companies in the Visayas and Mindanao, the Entrepreneur reported.
BGI, which was founded in 1996, grew with the rise in demand for marketing collaterals in the Liu family business, which includes Penshoppe, Oxygen, ForMe, and Memo.
“We wanted to be a printing company that was at par with those in Hong Kong and Singapore,” Liu said, who was responsible in the planning and establishment of BGI.
Entrepreneur Philippines reported BGI to be the first company in Cebu to acquire, in 2005, the computer-to-plate technology.
With its innovative designs, BGI’s roster of clients grew to include five-star hotels, resorts and exporters, among others. On any given month, the company handles 150 to 200 printing projects, with each order averaging 100,000 pieces.
BGI is a recipient of Print Excellence Awards from the Printing Industry Association of the Philippines in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, and last September 2007 in two major categories.
The Entrepreneur said BGI is also noted for its good employer-staff relationship. The company’s 120 employees enjoy sales incentives and scholarship programs, among others.
“Fifty percent of our staff has been with us since we started,” Liu said.
Other Entrepreneur 10 awardees are Boots Alcan-tara, Butch Albarracin, Derrick Chiongbian, Jose Miguel Geronimo, Josie Go, Dina Salonga, Catherine Lopez-Uy and Albert Yu. (MMM)
