Out of the woodwork
A series of setbacks never failed to dishearten Antonio
Gomez, who once again ran to a bank in a last-ditch effort to make his
woodworking business work.
Out of wood work Gomez
and his people shifted from making chopping boards to creating home furniture,
and it wasn’t long before they had enough funds to rent a 7,000-square meter
facility in Mabalacat, Pampanga. And banking on his reputation from his Cedarwood
days, Gomez was able to attract foreign buyers again and to mass-produce
furniture. “We were shipping several containers of furniture to the United
States,” he says.
But again, Chinese competitors stole Gomez’s clients by
undercutting their prices, forcing him to scale down his production. “I was
frustrated,” he says. “Our designs were better but they really cost a lot more.
So I went back to the one who supplied me my machines and asked him how I could
make my equipment run more efficiently.”
It was then he found out he needed to replace his outdated
machines with computer-aided ones so he could churn more furniture in less the
time. But there’s a catch: the machines cost P130 million. Gomez tried but
failed to raise the amount by pooling money with friends and applying for
another round of bank financing.
Having exhausted his options, Gomez decided to make do with
his small facility and old machines, and to have operating capital, he sought a
loan from Banco de Oro, which extended him a P1.5 million credit line in 2002.
He used the money to buy wood, paint, and hire more workers. When the balance
was down to P600,000, he borrowed P1.5 million more, this time payable in two
years, to sustain operations. “You really need to have a large amount of
working capital to sustain your inventory,” he explains.
Nevertheless, Gomez’s latest round of borrowing served him
in good stead, for it allowed him to open a showroom in SM Megamall in
September 2005, giving his products more exposure. Today, his company ships
around 60 containers to Japan and Spain. It was nothing compared with his
former American buyer, but at least it’s a steady source of business. Gomez
believes his competitive advantage lies in his designs. “All our products
include little touches of indigenous materials, like bamboo and coconut shells.
These are what the export market is looking for.”
Despite the series of setbacks he suffered, Gomez still
believed in the potential of the woodworking business. “My wife is the one who would
always be hesitant, especially when I take out loans, for example. Pero
matapang ako. Pag nakikita ko na pwede ang isang bagay, itutuloy ko yan. I tell
her we need money to produce; if we don’t borrow money, what will we do with
our lives? Ang importante, alam natin na kaya natin bayaran. I borrow money to
generate more money for my business
GET THAT LOAN
Single proprietorships or corporations engaged in trading
(import/export), manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and food processing
and which have been profitable for at least three years, can avail of a minimum
of P400,000 under the following lending services from Banco de Oro:
• Credit Line – For working capital and short-term requests.
The line is renewable yearly and the interest payable monthly
• Terms Loan – For short and medium financial requests.
Interest and principal are payable in equal monthly amortizations
• Letter of Credit—For export/import transactions. These are
renewable after a year
Contributor..C. Bruce
