Gathering enough capital from his own savings, Guillermo M. Figueroa started manufacturing handicraft and furniture in the early 1950’s with just one planer, one handsaw and some raw materials. He later formed Rattan Originals, Inc. Today, the factory sits on an eight-hectare land in Talisay City, Cebu, with a workforce of close to 600 employees. Back then, the company produced rattan furniture pieces and parts along with buri furniture reinforced with rattan, and lauan cases with rattan trimmings. Products were exported to the US, Mexico, the Carribean, then West Germany, Japan, Australia, Greece, France and Italy. Two major projects were: supplying furniture for a hotel in Cancun, Mexico where the Summit Meeting in 1981 was held; and furnishing a 200-room hotel in Athens, Greece where the Miss Universe beauty pageant was held. The company was the first recipient of the Golden Shell Award in 1982 for excellence in exports, given by the then Ministry of Trade and Industry. The late Guillermo M. Figueroa’s strong foresight and in his anticipation of the then impending rattan shortage gave birth to Casa Cebuana Incorporada in 1986 with the thrust of specializing in wood furniture. The company has shifted gears and upgraded its wood working machines from manual to semi-automatic state-of-the-art equipment producing only for the best names in the international furniture market. Today, it is one of the leading manufacturers of high-end quality furniture exported to the United States, Europe, the Middle East, South America and South Africa. Figueroa’s daughter, Angela Figueroa-Paulin now runs the company as President and CEO, moving its strategic focus on sustainable production and design by seriously exploring new materials such as coco wood.
Preparation and assembly of the coco wood chair Ventana.
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