Cushioning adversity with determination

The Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2017 has concluded its search for the country’s most inspiring entrepreneurs. Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines is a program of the SGV Foundation, Inc., with the participation of co-presenters Department of Tra

BUILDING a business is always challenging and developing a homegrown brand into a trusted, industry-defining company with a 50-year track record has not been a walk in the park.

For Natividad Cheng, 71, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Multiflex RNC Philippines, Inc. (Uratex), establishing the company required decades of hard work, prudence, frugality, business sense and no little measure of luck.

Ms. Cheng ’s entrepreneurial journey began out of her and her late husband Robert Cheng’s dream of getting out of poverty. With seed money of only P4,000 and some prior knowledge about upholstery, the Chengs set up their business, formerly Polyfoam Chemical Corp.

While other producers concentrated on cheap, low-quality foam, the Chengs focused on quality, value- for- money products with longer warranties that,

today, has lasted some 15 years.

Ms. Cheng recounts, “At the time, customers just wanted cheap foam because it’s what they could afford.”

“But they would later complain because cheap foam doesn’t last. That’s why we decided to make good-quality foam.”

However, the company was thrown into turmoil early on when its first manufacturing plant was gutted in a fire in 1970.

Unfazed by the accident, the Chengs began anew by appealing to their creditors and suppliers.

After only a year, they managed to pay off all their suppliers, importers and creditors. This turning point made them realize the importance of integrity and reputation.

Their pioneering efforts in the foam industry allowed the Chengs to eventually diversify their products and offer them to other industries such as automotive, electronics, footwear, garments and construction.

Today, the Uratex Group of Companies ( UGC) is a leading provider of industrial foam, mattresses, food containers, textiles, monoblock furniture and automotive original equipment parts, including car seats, radiators, and mufflers.

The group established factories, warehouse, showrooms in 20 locations nationwide and over 1,000 retail establishments.

Besides direct exports to Guam, Australia and Asia, the company also supplies industrial foam to various export industries.

When Mr. Cheng passed away in 2003, Ms. Cheng seamlessly took over the business to steer the company past various challenges to further strengthen its dominant position in the market.

Even as the Uratex brand has remained strong for almost 50 years, the company continues to lead product innovation, investing in highly advanced machines and building world-class facilities that would help meet the increasing demand of both its local and international customers. All machines deployed in its five major foam manufacturing plants are original equipment from the best suppliers in Germany and Norway.

“We constantly innovate by looking at different industry trends in Europe, US and Japan, as well as investing in research and development,” Ms. Cheng said.

The company has the only complete certified foam testing laboratory in the country.

Its research and development team undergoes rigorous training under global foam manufacturing experts and is exposed to up-todate manufacturing technologies to help the company develop new foam products.

In addition to being endorsed by the Philippine Orthopedic Association, Uratex foam is also certified by Certi-PUR, a voluntary standard that ensures safe, environment-friendly products.

Ms. Cheng says she owes much of her success to luck, though she clarified that swerte ( good luck) is the product of hard work and goodwill.

She has been called ninang ng bayan ( godmother of the community) because of her kindness and willingness to help other people.

Her charitable work includes donations to schools and communities, as well as nongovernment organizations such as Gawad Kalinga for deprived communities in Sulu and rehabilitation projects in Marawi City, and the AGAPP Foundation for the construction of public school classrooms.

Ms. Cheng is also a founding donor of the Mind Museum.

As she herself never finished college due to financial difficulties, Ms. Cheng believes greatly in the power of education.

She provides scholarships to children of the company’s employees and of golf caddies, a favorite beneficiary of her late husband.

The company’s fire trucks are also frequent first responders when fires break out in nearby locations. The company has also contributed tens of thousands of sleeping mats to evacuation centers during times of need.

For her entrepreneurial leadership, which has made Uratex one of the leading foam-makers in Southeast Asia, Ms. Cheng has received awards such as the PLDT Bossing Award, the Go Negosyo Filipina “Starpreneurs” award, the Reader’s Digest most trusted brand awards for eight straight years, global product and systems quality certifications, automotive industry recognitions, as well as national productivity and quality awards.

Having leveraged on business sense, thriftiness and hard work to achieve her dream, Ms. Cheng’s advice for would- be entrepreneurs is to “know the business you’re getting into.”

“Be thrifty and always reinvest your earnings into the business.”

The official airline of the Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines 2017 is Philippine Airlines.

Media sponsors are Business-World and the ABS- CBN News Channel. Banquet sponsors are Bench; Bounty Fresh Food, Inc.; CDO Foodsphere; Fiori Di Marghi; First Metro Investment Corp.; Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc.; Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc.; Intermed Marketing Phils. Inc.; Jollibee Foods Corp.; LBC; SteelAsia and Universal Harvester, Inc.

The winners of the Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines 2017 will be announced in an Oct. 18 awards banquet at the Makati Shangri-La hotel.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines will represent the country in the World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2018 in Monte Carlo, Monaco in June 2018.

The Entrepreneur Of The Year program is produced globally by Ernst & Young.