The continued recovery of the property industry is seen benefitting not just construction companies but those engaged in fitting out the interiors of edifices.
This and the need to stay on top of competition has prompted Simbulan Group of Companies to embark on a retooling and mechanization expansion and reskilling program.
The Bulacan-based company, which specializes in project management, interior fit-out works and manufacturing of furniture, furnishings and builder’s woodworks on a turn-key basis, has in fact 16 ongoing projects, mostly for hotels and high-end residential buildings.
Renato Simbulan, the company’s president and chief executive officer, said the five-year development program aims to double the capacity of its factory in Baliwag by becoming more efficient without laying off its workers.
Simbulan takes pride in this latest endeavor as it imparts not just technical skills but personality development and work ethics to the group’s employees through special workshops.
Simbulan said updating its machinery and incorporating automation will bring in new technologies from Europe and other Asian countries that would improve the company’s manufacturing capabilities.
With manual processes, a sofa frame would require two to three people to finish the product in two to five days. Mechanization would finish 30 sets per day.
The group’s latest showcase project, the Clark International Airport, brings a mix of pride and relief for Simbulan.
The P1.6-billion deal clinched a few months before the lockdown in 2020 somehow tided his company over the pandemic.
Production and construction for the fit-outs were unhampered as the lockdown enabled Simbulan to proceed with the important government flagship infrastructure project without delays caused by traffic.
Simbulan Group works with the country’s top developers and has always been in the top three in the business.
Simbulan founded the company in 1977 fresh out of college initially putting together speaker boxes and cabinets. He would later join exhibits and fairs to explore export of furniture, which he did within five years.
Simbulan considers a luxury hotel in Boracay as his first big break although the company had worked on Fort Ilocandia, Port Irene and Heritage Hotel.
Ongoing projects include a hotel-casino and a luxury condominium.
Simbulan Group harnesses local and imported raw materials to meet customer demand and changing trends.
According to Simbulan, today’s trends lean towards simple practical and functional – not necessarily minimalist – fit outs. Designs go for big, bold and floral and nature-inspired prints rem iniscent of the 1980s.
Simbulan said sustainability remains a focus. Wood and metal materials are preferred and plastic wares avoided.
