Furnishing Iloilo’s metal industry thru Science & Technology

In a small busy street along Iloilo City’s wet market in Rizal Estanzuela stands MAGS Pipe Bending and
Steelworks—a company that is engaged in metalworks, producing custom-made products for processed
food, hotel and restaurant services, medical services, furniture and furnishings and automotive accessories.
“I started on working with basic metal works, furniture and automotive accessories. Now I can’t believe I
am already producing for hospitals, hotels, restaurants and car shops in Western Visayas,” said MAGS
owner, Mr. Marlon G. Gascon.
MAGS is a pioneering firm engaged in the electroplating business in Western Visayas. The company started
its business in 1995 by doing pipe bending with three employees. Through the years, the enterprise has
expanded its operation and it now employs a total of 30 employees.
For expansion, the company ventured into electro-chemical plating of stainless-steel items. The company
adopted a DOST-MIRDC technology on electroplating to address its difficulty to mechanically clean and
polish corner points of the workpiece. The technology significantly improved productivity and quality of
work on top of savings from consumables and working time.
“I was already a member of the Metals Industry Association of the Philippines (MIAP) and a beneficiary
of DOST trainings on metal products when I asked DOST about electroplating and it interests me. I
associated it since I am already producing automotive accessories and I thought of restoring easily timeworn
parts especially tire mags,” he stressed. Through the Small Enterprises Technology Upgrading Program
Innovation System Support Fund (SETUP-ISSF) program in 2007, the company purchased equipment for
electroplating process.
With the help of the additional technology and the first and only in Western Visayas in 2007, electroplating
has not only limited its purpose to SMEs but extending its application to large scale business and industries
especially for producing plants and manufacturers.
“Electroplating does not only improve the aesthetics of the product but also preserve rust-adapting
equipment used in production, giving quality end results,” Gascon added. Moreover, since the market
demand had increased, the company under the same program with the project entitled, “Productivity and
Quality Improvement of Locally Manufactured Food Service Equipment and Outdoor Furnitures” has also
availed of one hydraulic guillotine shearing machine and one hydraulic pipe bender in 2012.
“It’s just like a trial and error method as well since it cannot be perfected in one try. I also consider the cost
of the material since I want to produce quality outcome and I don’t have hesitations in choosing them,” he
said. With the acquisition of the hydraulic guillotine shearing machine they were able to produce precise
cuts that enabled them to reach out to enterprises that they never catered to before. The hydraulic pipe
bender could produce clean bend and also supports the guillotine shear to avoid production bottleneck.
The firm also availed of a CNC Press Break as part of their third project in 2017, Manufacturing
Productivity Extension (MPEX) Program, Cleaner Production Technology Program and Training on 5S to
attain improved product quality, productivity and increased sales, which in turn sustained the employment
in the community.
The technology interventions extended to MAGS also resulted in the increase of its production capacity,
decrease in production cost and increase in its market share. As a beneficiary of various DOST services,
the company experienced a steady growth and is now providing employment to many people.
“I am grateful to DOST for sharing me the knowledge on electroplating process. The technology was an
important breakthrough of my 15 years in the metalworking industry,” shared Gascon.
(DOST6/KMU-JRAGabiota)