Vizcaya furniture maker bags int’l award

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – Another Filipino has made it to the arena of global business excellence.

Reynaldo Agub Jr. has been asked time and again: How did a registered civil and geodetic engineer shift his life and career to being an entrepreneur and owner of a popular furniture store here, churning out world-class house furnishings?

He used to have difficulty explaining his career shift years ago when he started Reylen’s Furniture and Enterprises in the midst of a booming career as a civil and geodetic engineer.

But now, he finds it easier, not only because his prosperous furniture business has let him go places to represent the province. And in November he is bound for Madrid, Spain to personally receive the prestigious International Award for Excellence of Products and Services or the so-called New Millennium Award.

“Like everything in life, I do not like shoddily made products, so much so that I see to it that nothing less than the best craftsmanship goes into every product sold by Reylen’s Furniture and Enterprises. And I have been strict in maintaining the quality of our products through the years,” he said.

From an initial capital of only P50,000, word-of-mouth advertising and a “backyard clientele” 15 years ago, Reylen’s Furniture has grown into a more than P50-million enterprise, with its products now one of the most sought-after in the region. 

As president of the Furniture Makers Association of Nueva Vizcaya, Agub has come to see his products on display in various trade fairs in Metro Manila and elsewhere.

His firm is usually one of the top-grossers in trade fairs and expositions sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Tourism, Department of Labor and Employment, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, among other agencies, in partnership with the business sector.

Using only wood procured from legal sources with design combining beauty, practicability and comfort, Reylen’s Furniture has set a standard of excellence among local furniture makers.

The New Millennium Award, to be handed out at a ceremony at the Hotel Melia Castilla in Madrid on Nov. 19, is an idea of the editorial office of the Trade Leaders Club to recognize mostly small and medium-scale entrepreneurs with globally competitive products and services.

Before Agub, only two other Filipino entrepreneurs have received the award founded 17 years ago.

“This is an honor that I did not expect to receive. It would have been sufficient reward for me to see that our products are continuously made up to standard, that our customers are satisfied with the products they buy and that business is good,” said Agub, who credited his wife, Helen, as the real reason behind the award.

Reylen’s Furniture and Enterprises manufactures all types of furniture, from cabinets, table and chair sets to beds.