Just in time
For someone whose family has long been entrenched into several businesses, Justin Dominic Tambunting makes sure family will always come first.
“Living in close proximity to the office helps me carve out time to have meals with family, bring my son to school, his extracurricular activities and routine doctor checkups, as well as end the work day attending evening Mass.”
IN his growing up years, Justin Dominic Tambunting had been continuously exposed to his family’s different businesses that include janitorial services (Mila del Sol’s Superior Maintenance Services), manpower outsourcing (Supra Multi-Services), pest control (Pest Equalizer Control and Sanitation Services) and washroom hygiene products (Product Providers Inc.).
“Our portfolio of companies mostly deal with cleaning and the service, manpower and products involved goes into it,” he explained.
It is not surprising that Tambunting gets to be at the helm of the most recent company his family invested in. Starting in 2018, Tambunting has been serving as vice president for operations of Nozomi Providers Inc. that brings into the fold cleaning-related retail products.
In 2017, Nozomi Marketing Malaysia, the largest professional washroom hygiene and air freshener product manufacturer in Malaysia, offered to partner with Product Providers Inc. (PPI), a trusted supplier of hygiene products and flooring solutions in the Philippines.
“My father, Joseph Tambunting, the CEO (chief executive officer) of PPI, has long been engaged in B2B (business to business) trading and agreed to partner with Nozomi Malaysia to expand the PPI product line to the retail/B2C (business to consumer) segment,” Tambunting said. “From this partnership, Nozomi Providers Inc. was officially launched in 2018.”
Like the rest of Tambunting’s family businesses, Nozomi Providers Inc. is headquartered in Parañaque City.
“Collectively, the Tambunting Group of Companies employ upwards of 10,000 workers,” Tambunting shared.
“My father opened the opportunity to start Nozomi Providers Inc. through his business relationship with the CEO of Nozomi Malaysia. The past five years, we have worked together to grow the company.”
Understandably, Tambunting had to face a number of challenges for Nozomi Providers Inc.
“Our company had to deal with more than the usual volume of expired goods from stores due to slow product velocity,” he lamented.
Working in the new normal became a challenge for his employees.
“In the back office, everyone wants to work from home and have flexible work schedules,” he narrated.
“Employee retention became more challenging in the new normal. In the field, shelf spaces are more expensive. Additionally, the rising value of the US dollar is a crucial factor, as we import our products from overseas.”
Nozomi products — Airnergy, NetCare and AutoZone brands — are comparable in quality to leading brands in the market, all effective and safe. “Being new, the products are still at introductory prices and are more affordable than their respective counterparts,” Tambunting said.
“They are produced by Nozomi Marketing Malaysia, which is certified with ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 9001:2015 Quality Management System and are imported into the Philippines.”
In trying to consistently maintain the image of Nozomi Providers, Tambunting and his team utilize online marketing and prioritize good shelf displays for their products.
For someone whose family has long been entrenched into several businesses, Tambunting tried to focus his sights into sports instead to become a professional golfer when he lived in the United States. Apparently, that was his initial childhood ambition.
“I tried to pursue golf in America by playing competitively in college, but competition was already extremely tough at that level, more so in the professional stage,” he said. “Ever since I was a child, I’ve been into golf.”
He took up BS Kinesiology at California State University East Bay, then briefly worked in the East Coast at Newark, New Jersey as physical therapy assistant. Not too long after, he decided he would rather do something else.
Tambunting lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for almost 12 years prior to repatriating to the Philippines in 2017 to join his family business.
Nowadays, his normal day starts with coffee, something that he always does.
“I wake up around 5 a.m. to play golf in the mornings and head to the office a few hours later,” Tambunting said.
“On days I don’t make it to the golf course, I would bring my son to school instead, head to the office and end the workday hearing Mass.
“On weeknights, I would take my wife out to dinner or hang out with friends to network or simply catch up. Golf on weekend mornings. I play golf regularly with close friends and family. The rest of the weekend, I spend family time.”
Tambunting always spends a lot of time on the golf course. “Playing golf is what I missed the most during the lockdown,” he said. “I jumped at the first opportunity to play again once the restrictions were lifted.”
Every Sunday is family day. The entire Tambunting clan often gathers for lunch in his grandparents’ home.
“On weekends, I bring my eldest son to soccer and we play golf together,” Tambunting said. “I’m excited to do the same when my 11-month-old son grows older, too.”
Since his residence is merely a 10-minute drive to his office, that works largely to Tambunting’s advantage.
“Living in close proximity to the office helps me carve out time to have meals with family, bring my son to school, his extracurricular activities and routine doctor checkups, as well as end the work day attending evening Mass,” he said.
“My wife keeps me in check when I spend too much time outside away from the family. We love dining out and we run errands together.
“I like whipping up a good meal in the kitchen and visiting different hang out spots with friends. I also do annual visits to the Nozomi Malaysia production plant in Rawang, Malaysia.”