Don Ramon Aboitiz: portrait of a genteleman as a businessman

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Part of The Philippines Herald

Title: Don Ramon Aboitiz: portrait of a genteleman as a businessman
Language: English
Source: The Philippines Herald (November 14, 1970)
Year: 1970
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Fulltext: Don Ramon Today At 83, Don Ramon Aboitiz still goes to the office everyday to keep tab on shipping operations. His latest in terest, however, is the Don Ramon Aboitiz Foundation which is dedica ted to the advancement of educa tion and culture as well as to perpe tuate his numerous philantrophie endeavors. Don Ramon Aboitiz Portrait of a gentleman as a businessman Few people today could attribute success through honesty, hard work and ability. The hardworking, honest individual is simply a ra rity nowadays. But Don Ramon Aboitiz, the grand pa triarch of Visayan business who celebrates his 83rd birthday Monday, is still willing to start new businesses with those same qualities of ho nesty, hard work and ability. For that is the secret behind the success of Aboitiz & Co., Inc., which, -starting out as a small hemp trading company in Palompon, Leyte 50 years ago, was to become a multi company, multi-million peso business involved in practically all facets of the national econo my. Don Ramon always stressed those oldtime virtues. In fact, even today at his ripe old age, he is still the Indefatigable worker that he had always been. At 83, he arrives at his office every morning at about 7:30 and works the full morning until lunchtime and then resumes in the afternoon. This is how deeply involved Don Ramon Is in the Aboitiz business. Hie Is Aboitiz * Company, and Aboitiz & Company is Don Ra mon. Page 2 ABOITIZ & CO. SUPPLEMENT November 14, 1970 Bom on November 16, 1887 to Paulina Aboitiz and Emilia Yrastorza in Ormoc City, he grew up helping in his father’s store and assisting him in the buying and selling of aba ca. As the fourth child in a family of 10 and the favorite of his father, he constantly ac companied his father and learned the intri cacies of business at a very early age. In Ormoc, the boy Ramon attended a few years of private tutoring where he was taught a little arithmetic and some writing. A little later, his father sent him to Spain for further schooling. He settled in Lekeitio, a small seaside town near his father’s original home, where he attended two years of public schooling. Upon reaching his 13th year, he was sent to Liverpool to learn English and further ame nities. To get him acquainted easily with the English language, Don Ramon, along with se veral other boys, boarded in the home of his Ramon got the position of clerk and commis sioned agent at Aldecoa & Co. in Cebu City with a salary of P50 a month. On instruc tions of his father, the manager with whom he stayed deducted P30 ostensibly "for board and room,” leaving him only P20, half of which he saved After a year, Aldecoa took in a new ma nager with whom the young Ramon got into an argument eight days later, resulting in his being terminated from his job. With the mo ney for board and room, which was returned to him, Don Ramon fondly recalled that he felt “the proudest man in the world.” The money was all in silver, the currency in use, and weighed heavily in his pocket. His pa rents insisted that he keep the money which he had worked hard to earn. Don Ramon la ter invested it in a profitable venture and eventually bought a life insurance policy worth PIO,000. and feasting with barrio residents. Meanwhile, Jose Muertcgui and Paulino Aboitiz were beginning to be impressed by Don Ramon’s business sense and drive. Sometime in 1907, at about the time that the first Phi lippine Assembly was meeting, the two busi ness partners asked Don Ramon to buy a boat to be used in the abaca and general merchan dise business. Don Ramon secured a used, two-engine coast guard vessel, the “Picket’’ for P7.500 at public auction. Don Ramon became its purser and "jefe de viajc’’ with a monthly salary of P60, equivalent to today s P240 mi nimum wage. FROM PURSER TO MANAGER By 1910, the volume of business of Muertegui y Aboitiz warranted the establishment of a branch in Cebu. With the exposure of Don Ramon to all facets of the business, he was the natural choice to head the new office. Aboitiz Family Portrait Here is an old family portrait of the Aboitiz family taken in Ormoc City when Den Ramon was manager of the Cebu branch of Muertegui y Aboi tiz. Front row, from left: Luis, Paulino, and Vidal. Second row, same order: Don Ramon, Emilia (mother), Paulino (father) and Guillermo. Standing, same order: Dolores, Anita, Antonia and Carmen. Note that the three young Aboitiz brothers in the front row are sitting on a bun dle of hemp, the very fiber which could be called the foundation of the Aboitiz business empire today. The fashion of the times is reflected in young Ramon’s white de hilo suit with high collar and matched with a pair of white shoes. In keeping with the tonsorial mood of the day, Don Ramon also sports a neatly trimmed moustache. Photo taken around 1910. English tutor. The lessons consisted of writing, translating and grammar exercises. Not satis fied, Don Ramon would accompany a Portu guese fellow boarder to department stores to talk with English salesgirls. This resource fulness proved helpful: at the end of three months, Don Ramon could speak English com petently while his classmates were still strug gling with the language a year later. He spent a second year In England at an Institute for boys, this constituting the final phase of his formal education. FIRST JOB Back In the Philippines In July, 1903, Don November 14, 1970 BACK TO LEYTE Don Ramon found himself back In Leyte, where he worked for Muertegui y Aboitiz, a partnership of his father and Jose Muertegui, an abaca and general merchandise dealer In Palompon. The two consolidated their opera tions and put up an abaca press, where Don Ramon started as a warehouseman, although he was actually a troubleshooter. When the cashier left, he assumed more duties which included occasional trips within the province to buy abaca in a rowboat with a foreman and laborer. The young Ramon seemed to enjoy the excursions since they would often stay overnight in the barrios and enjoyed dancing He was 22 when In March, 1910 he opened the office at the corner of Lapu-Lapu and Maga llanes Streets In Cebu City. He was now a tall bemoustached young man, often garbed In white suit. In his new position, Don Ramon was In charge of the arrivals and departures of the “Picket,” the purchase of goods, and the sale of abaca and copra for the partnership. Don Ramon, with his cousin Joaquin Yras torza, and a clerk, worked long hours in the small, suffocatingly hot office, and lived up stairs. In time, he developed the business (turn to page 4) ABOITIZ & CO. SUPPLEMENT Page 3 Aboitiz & Co.The above photos, taken at the same angle, show the growth of Aboitiz & Co. from its establishment in 1920 to its 50th year corporate existence. Left photo shows the old company building, right, foreground, just across the Cebu Sto. Nino Church, at the corner of Lapu-Lapu and Magallanes Then and Now Streets, and right photo shows Aboitiz & Co. today, with the modern five-storey edifice having replaced the old one. Just beyond, to the left of the church, can be seen the building housing the Magellan cross and in the background the Cebu City harbor. judgment and savvy that were to serve him in good stead in later years. He made all the de cisions, and made them quickly. Keeping close tab on his competitors, he befriended them and at the same time noted their business practices. He worked hard to establish good public relations with the export houses such as Smith, Bell & Co., Stevenson, Kerr & Co., etc. He was now earning P300 a month and, as usual, saving half of it. STARTS HIS OWN As a young businessman, Don Ramon was quick to spot the rich opportunities offered b.v Cebu City, which was now fast developing into the commercial hub of the Visayas. He saw potentials in other businesses which did not conflict with his responsibilities at Muertegui y Aboitiz. He decided to put up his own busi ness partnership with his brothers. He took orders from the provinces for all kinds of goods. As the volume picked up, his younger brother Vidal joined the group in the partner ship known as G. y R. Abojtiz, the initial “G” standing for his older brother Guillermo. This partnership with his brothers suf fered an early setback. They took a loss of about P2,000 when two American soldiers from Samar ordered some merchandise for which Don Ramon could not collect a single centa vo. MARRIAGE Handsome, and a most eligible young man Don Ramon was also quite a man-about-town, being a constant squire of Cebu’s many young beauties. One day at the pier, he spotted a beautiful young lady getting off one of the boats. He learned that the young woman was Dolores Sidebottom, newly arrived from a Bri tish finishing school, and the daughter of Smith, Bell’s manager. After a brief courtship, the two were married in June, 1912. A few months after, his father, Paulino Aboitiz, died in Spain at the age of 62. Don Ramon continued to manage the Aboi tiz share of the Muertegui y Aboitiz partner ship, but differences soon arose over the run ning of the business. On June 1, 1916, Don Ramon and his brothers, with money advanced by Smith, Bell & Co. bought out Jose Muerte gui for P95.000. A new partnership was formed with the name, Viuda y Hijos de P. Aboitiz. When he was 31, Don Ramon took a va cation to Europe to relax and to look into pos sible business ventures. He was accompanied by his wife, his son Eduardo and Don Ramon’s youngest brother, Luis. THE BIRTH OF ABOITIZ & CO. Before he left Cebu, Don Ramon had sold his shares in the partnership to his brothers and arranged for Arnaldo F. de Silva, a busi nessman-friend, to help them manage the business. Silva and the Aboitiz brothers sub sequently formed Aboitiz & Co., Incorporated on January 31, 1920, and capitalized at P15 million. Its officers included Silva, Guillermo and Vidal Aboitiz and their cousins Manuel Moraza and Joaquin Yrastorza. Later, the stockholders included Paulino and Luis Aboi tiz. Bad luck and misfortune hounded Aboitiz & Co. in its early years. It soon found itself in deep trouble for the early post-war years depressed the prices of many agri cultural products. There was a time when Aboitiz & Co nearly went bankrupt as they, were trading heavily in abaca and forced to sell their stocks at a loss because the expected increase in price failed to materialize. Don Ramon, who was then in Spain hur riedly returned to Cebu and took full control of the company. With about P2 million in outstanding loans, he was advised by his friends to declare bankruptcy. But he turned this down, aware tha.t it would destroy their credit standing. Moreover, confident of his ability to manage the business, he sought help of his former ac quaintances. This paid off when Smith, Bell & Co. and McLeod & Co. agreed to help him. The agreement for Aboitiz & Co. to sell all the abaca it purchased south of Baybay, Leyte to Macleod, and those bought north of Baybay would be sold to Smith, Bell. PERIOD OF EXPANSION The first decade of the company, from 1920-1930, was a period of expansion. It saw Aboitiz go into a number of diverse business. It was also the time Aboitiz went to sea. The partnership acquired ships in which to ship their abaca and other goods. Later, these ships were merged with those of Hijos de F. Escano to form La Naviera Filipina, a move cal culated to enable them to compete more effec tively with their rivals. La Naviera further merged with Everett Steamship Co. to form Philippine Steam Navigation Company with ships plying the inter-island route as well as to Japan. He took over the management oi the Cebu Ice and Cold Storage and salvaged it from near bankruptcy to profitability, even with the old equipment During this period, too, Don Ramon ac quired the Cebu Shipyard, which was formerly owned by a group of Chinese businessmen, and turned it into a money-making venture by making it more efficient and giving it new management. This shipyard would later continue to ex pand Philippine shipping and help conserve the country’s dollar reserves by offering drydocking services to inter-island ships which would usually go to Japan and Hongkong for such purposes. Only recently, this shipyard won the bid to construct two hospital ships for use in the administration’s rural health assistance pro gram through the Presidential Assistance on National Minorities (Panamin). Shortly before the start of the Second World War, the company was managing a knit ting factory and providing electric power in some important provincial capitals in Minda nao and Leyte. It had survived In the highly competitive hemp and copra business to be come then the second largest copra exporter in the Philippines. The phenomenal growth of the company lies in its policy, of diversifying its operations by investing in firms that are losing and in Page 4 ABOITIZ & CO. SUPPLEMENT November 14, 1970 making these companies profitable through cost savings and other measures. It also grew by setting up Its own companies to provide for the Increased need for new products and services. Surviving the early near bankruptcy, Aboitiz & Co. expanded and eventually bought control of one of the companies that assisted it out in its earlier difficulties — Smith, Bell & Co. (Phil.) Inc Its companies, during the last fifty years, have been involved in activities ranging from manufacturing, shipping, banking, insurance, home and commercial financing, utilities, real ty, importing, exporting, distribution, to oper ation of a shipyard. The unconventional business executive that he Is, Don Ramon has adopted the policy of stressing growth rather than dividend pay ments, as a result of which the company has reinvested most of its earnings, and has grown to what it is today. As the company diversified, Don Ramon realized that capital was no longer the prob lem. Rather, he needed good men to run the Aboitiz group of companies. He realized that he did not have to possess knowledge in all fields of business as long as he could find ex perts to work for him, as in the case of Fran cisco Such, on whose capability Don Ramon relied heavily when he invested in power com panies tn Davao, Cotabato and Jolo; and Al varo Pastor, who helped him invest in legging. The power companies which provide electricity to some 35,000 households contributed greatly to the economic growth of the area as did the logging companies. Not only did he find the men he needed; he knew how to set them to do their best and be loyal. He demanded no less from his employes than he demanded from himself, often working in the office late into the night. Don Ramon knew how to deal with eve rybody. especially his competitors. Rather than treat them as rivals, he made friends with them and even helped them out when they were down. He believed that to get along with people, one must not pass up a chance to do a favor for someone. "You’ll get it back, somehow,” he would say. For relaxation, Don Ramon occasionally played tennis early in the morning, did some hiking on weekends, or bowled in the evening. Don Vidal Aboitiz As one of the early business partners of his elder brother Don Ramon, Don Vidal contri buted his own business acumen in transform ing the company to what it is today. Don Vidal is presently Chairman of Aboitiz & Co. He Is still a member of Casino Espanol de Ce bu, of which he was president for several years, and Is also a member of the American and British clubs in Cebu City. He also found time for charitable work and took an interest notably in Asilio de la Milagrosa and Cebu Boy’s Town to which he donated the land and building in Punta Prlncesa. His latest concern, however, is the recent ly-formed Don Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, a non-profit and humanitarian undertaking de dicated to enhancing the educational and cul tural fields as well as to perpetuate the ma ny philantrophic endeavors of Don Ramon. To this Foundation, he has devoted a lot of his time, thereby signifying his keen interest in the project. At 83, Don Ramon still keeps close tab on the operations, being still involved In day-today operations in the shipping companies, nis favorite Through the years, he has acted as fa ther to the employes of the company, known as the ever benevolent Don Ramon, especially to those in need of financial assistance To them, financial assistance means the Cebu City Savings & Loan Association and the Cebu Mutual Fund. Since its establishment five years ago, the Cebu City Savings & Loan Association has extended loans to some 10,000 persons, while the Cebu Mutual Fund has help ed finance the construction of more than 20,000 homes. Management-employe relations iri the company Is one of the most ideal in the coun try. The employes enjoy the various privi leges and benefits they are entitled to under the law, even before these were required by law, thus gaining and ensuring their lcyary. This can be seen in the number of old-timers and retirees, such as Don Ramon’s secretary who has served him for some 30 years, and also in the number of second and third gene ration employes in the companies’ various en terprises. When the company expanded, diversified and decentralized during the postwar years, the operations were taken over by other exe cutives, among them Jesus Moraza, William Bowler, William Paradies, Mariano Gonzales, Edson Canova, Luis and Ernesto Aboitiz and Manuel Moraza. The present composition of the board nf directors include Don Ramon as Chairman Emeritus, Don Vidal as Chairman, Eduardo as President, and Edson Canova, En rique Aboitiz, William Bowler, William Para dies, Luis Aboitiz and Manuel Moraza as mem bers. Aboitiz & Co. occupies a spacious, airy business office in a modern five-storey bui-ding at Its original site in Cebu City, where its operations are directed and controlled. Branch offices are located as far as Manila. Cotabato and Davao. As one looks back on Aboitiz & Co’s first half century of corporate growth into a multi faceted enterprise, it can be safely assumed that Aboitiz & Co. is still growing and making further contributions to the economic growth of the country. Aboitiz Top Meh The ezpanrian of Aboitiz ft Co. during the last fifty years can be greatly and treasurer; Edson JI. Canova, 1st vice president an5mat,torn®y‘’*1" attributed to the decentralisation of work to the other equally able ex.- fact; Eduardo J. Aboitiz, president and general manager; William A. Paecuttves. Shown above are the board of directors. From left: Luis Abol- radles, viee president and attorney-in-fact; William D. Bowler, control fix, Jr., attorney-in-fact; Enrique M. Aboitiz, vice president for finance ler; and Manuel M. Moraza, division manager for Aboitiz Marketing. November 14, 1970 ABOITIZ & CO. SUPPLEMENT Page 5
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