DOST 7 SET-UP Product Catalogue - DOST 7! - Department of ...

MODS S.A. Phils. Inc.
Decoration Furniture From The South
Scanning the pages of an issue of a MacKenzie-Childs Ltd., Mail Order Magazine-Catalogue, some of the
items that catches one’s attention are the following: an attractive, well-designed Bossa Nova Bombay Chest
worth $5,000; a matching Bossa Nova Mirror costing $2,500; a Pet Palace for $3,400; a beautifully decorated
Child’s Rocking Chair prized at $485; and, a Carriage Lantern for $350. All the components of these products
are custom-made in a factory in Barangay Canamucan, Compostela, Cebu, Philippines, accessorized and
sold at MacKenzie-Childs Ltd., Aurora, New York, USA.
“It took one year to develop MacKenzie-Childs Ltd.,
make the sample and have it approved and pass the
three tests of Bureau Veritas, an international Testing
Lab. ” That’s how Engr. Romeo L. Toledo, a Chemical
Engineer and owner of MODS S.A. PHILS. INC.,
described the tedious process that they had to
undergo to become the first and only supplier of
MacKenzie-Childs Ltd.
MODS S.A. PHILS. INC. is an export manufacturer
specializing initially in custom-made stone furniture
designed for everyday living and later, furniture made
of wood. The company got its name from an original
buyer of stone tables in Europe whose main outlet
is MODS France, UK and Germany. Since exclusive
distributorship is desired, the same name was
used. MODS is derived from a French word meaning
Muebles Decoracion Du Sud. In English, this means
Decoration Furniture from the South. This arrangement
started in 1998 and ended three years later
when the original buyer closed shop. That was the
end of stone made furniture and tables.
This development was a great blow to MODS. “The
company would have been closed without DOST,”
Engr. Toledo reminisced. The woodworking needs
of the company were assessed and in 2003, MODS
applied for SET-UP assistance.
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DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY VII
Product Catalogue 2011
The assistance enabled the company to purchase a
router pneumatic overhead, heavy duty band saw,
thickness planer, and radial saw, necessary equipment
to meet the high quality standards and accurate
delivery time demanded by its customer. It was at
this time that MODS had MacKenzie-Childs as its
regular customer. The orders from MacKenzie-Childs
alone, which came in quarterly, provided growth and
profitability for MODS.
Business was doing well for MODS for the next five
to six years until the recession in the US happened.
What originally were considered as regular orders
became irregular. Since the local market was
untapped, the company was caught unprepared
for this development.
MODS experienced another batch of difficult years
until Engr. Toledo met a friend in the shipping
industry. Refurbishing the boats of Lite Ferry 11
and 15 meant making new wooden bed bunks.
This was the break needed to resuscitate the
company.
This event signaled the start of taking a serious
look at the potential of the local market. MODS now
supplies the tables and chairs of some restaurants
and pension houses in Cebu and Mandaue. It also
furnishes some custom-designed beds, tables
and chairs of some affluent families in Cebu.
While orders still come from MacKenzie-Childs,
local orders constitute 50% of what is manufactured.
Despite the lows experienced in the business, the
Chemical Engineer who started as a paint chemist
and who pioneered the use of non-toxic paints in
furniture in Cebu, has much to thank for. While
some of his colleagues who were even bigger than
him in the furniture industry closed shop, he has
survived.
MODS S.A. Phils. Inc.
Cebu City
Engr. Romeo L. Toledo
General Manager / Owner
Tel No: (63)(32)316 1068
Telefax: (63)(32) 425 8306
Email: asfcebu@gmail.com