Meet the men behind Mapecons massive success The Manila Times – The Manila Times

GONZALO CATAN JR. AND BERNARD RYAN ATIENZA

There is no other brand more trusted in the Philippines when it comes pest control but Mapecon. Just a year shy of six decades, what was initially established as Manila Pest Control in 1961 by innovator and entomologist Gonzalo Jun Catan Jr., has consistently delivered excellent service through history so much so that it proudly stands today as the nations leader and largest player in its competitive industry.

Through its 59 years of existence, Mapecon founded by innovator Gonzalo Jun Catan Jr. (left) has proven time and again that fair and just business practices will always be prioritized in this iconic Philippine company as proven today by the work of his grandson Bernard Ryan Atienza (right).

Believe it or not, Catan carefully and industriously grew Mapecon from a single proprietorship entity with only P400 in capital, to its present standing as a multi-million-peso corporation, with approximately 700 employees nationwide. This month of October marks this impressive empires 59-year success story.

The man who started it all, here with the love of his life and greatest motivator, wife Nancy Catan.

Mr. Catan was fresh out of University of the Philippines Los Baos, where he took up BS Agriculture minor in Crop Protection, when he decided that the current options for pest control in the country at the time would be dangerous in the long run. The reason for this is the fact that what was being used were imported from multinationals whose chemicals had already been banned at their source of origin, Bernard Ryan Atienza, Mapecons incumbent assistant national director and very able grandchild of its founder, proudly recalled in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Times Magazine.

The patriarchs mission for establishing the company in 1961 was to create employment for Filipinos, while making sure that quality service is provided to Mapecons clients

Basically, the Philippines and other third world countries were being used as dumping sites of these multinationals surplus and rejects and my grandfather would not stand for it.

Bent on providing his countrymen not only the better but the correct and effective alternative, the beginnings of Mapecon emerged from the young upstanding innovator, which he steeled and grew and with the principles of honest work and earning his customers trust by keeping them informed about the service they require.

Challenges in the time of pandemic

Fifty-nine years laterfollowing a great many years of stabilityMapecon, just like every company and industry in the world, is facing challenges from the relentless coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Before the pandemic, October always saw the companys National Managers Conference; it was still held this year this year albeit virtually on October 15.

Thankfully, according to Atienza, his grandfather was wise not only to hand them over a legacy but the very tools and working principles needed to hurdle an unexpected crisis.

He wouldnt expect any less of us, the well-trained grandson grinned.

Identifying beefed-up safety protocols for both manpower and clients when delivering their integrated, environmentally conscientious and award-winning patented products and services as most vital today, Mapecon is picking up where they abruptly left off, tenaciously and as solidly as the homes and buildings they treat.

Every day before work, employees are encouraged to say a short prayer and also invited to join a weekly prayer meeting for Bible reflection.

We saw a really sharp decline last March and April when all of this [pandemic] started, but we praise and thank the Lord that we have a very good upper management that were able to adapt to the situation immediately, Atienza related. Right now, were almost back at 85 to 90 percent of our normal revenue given that pest control is one of those businesses that is essential when you talk about termite control and general pest control.

These are things that people cant sacrifice and not a non-essential, he added.

Admitting that a great deal of how they do business delivery services have changed because of the pandemic, the top executive said they have continue adapting to the situation and facing the challenges head-on.

Even if they lift the quarantines and loosen restrictions even more, the paradigm has really shifted. Even with our customers, the challenge now is to convince them that its safe to let people into their homes and I sure them that we are being extra careful in providing our services. Its understandable how people or a little less trusting these days and thats very valid. The main challenge really is adapting to the new normal.

Bouncing back the right way

In strictly adhering to the specifically designed health and safety protocols for Mapecon, while taking care to assure their clients that the quality and trustworthy service they have long been known for remains unchanged, Atienza is certain they are well into the stage of bouncing back today.

The company has no intention of stopping when it comes to innovation, creation, providing services and of course, providing employment.

We are definitely bouncing back and I believe our customers have come to understand [how we are proceeding]. This is specially so because we make every effort to explain to them every step of our service in order to make sure that they and our people continue to be safe and healthy, he asserted.

To start with, one of our core values is adhering to integrity, honesty and transparency among all our employees, so even if just one person is suspected to be sick with the virus, we will always let our customers know.

Following protocol, such a disclosure will immediately be followed by quarantine and isolation, even if it means another disruption in operations.

We are better off losing a little in the short term than gambling on the trust that the customers place in us, Atienza explained. Just to elaborate on our protocols, our service people are especially screened daily. Before theyre deployed to the field, they have to fulfill a health checklist, which has the mandatory temperature check and so on, including a detailed interview with our administrative staff.

If found necessary, we immediately refer the employee to our company physician or nurse, so we definitely dont take risks. Even if the medical team just gives a suspicion of infection, we quarantine them pending results of the test.

In moving on and bouncing back the right way, Atienza believes the company should be able to endure in its mission to provide employment in whatever part of the country they do business and of course deliver unchanging quality service to their patrons.

The mission, vision and core values with which Mapecon began remains its foundation almost 60 years to the day. That hasnt changed and will never change, emphasized.

The primary mission of Mapecon has always been to provide employment to our fellow Filipinos, so that everything we do, everything that we innovate to expand the business and create new lines of business, is all about the bottom line. And thats to be able to hire more people because of Mr. Catans belief that the best way to solve poverty is not through handouts, but by providing employment.

Very proudly as he should be, Atienza reported that while most businesses have been forced to streamline their payrolls, Mapecon has not laid off a single employee since the lockdowns began in March.

Even if our personnel werent able to report for duty, we found ways to let them work from home so they can continue to have steady income, he shared. We have no plans of retrenching, and no plans of reducing the number of hours of our people. We want them to know that if they want and are willing to work, they can depend on us as a steady source employment.

According to the top executive, his grandfather, the rest of the family and their associates have worked very hard through the decades to maintain the integrity of this iconic Philippine brand and they have no plans of stopping, even when a pandemic or any calamity strikes.

I believe the integrity or the name Mapecon has come to mean something very specific to our clients and employees. Thats whatever happens, Mapecon will always be there.

To underline the point, the third-generation steward of this consistent entity of nation building reiterated, They can rely Mapeconand to be reliable, I think, is not something you just can say. You have to prove it over the years which I trust many will agree weve proven over the past 59 years.

Whatever anyone sayswe have competitors, we have detractors, we have people trying to bring Mapecon down who have always been unable to do soat the end of the day we let our actions and our reputation speaks for itself.

59 and counting

As expected, the pandemic is not stopping Mapecon from marking its 59th founding anniversary as it should. But while previous celebrations have been grand to befit the companys achievements, a simple online commemoration will be held this year.

We have 56 branches nationwide and we usually mount a Managers Conference to coincide with our anniversary, because it is set on the same day of Mr. Catans birthday. He likes seeing all the branch managers so we have this big conference that involves all of the managers coming either to Manila or all of us going to a province of choice, Atienza happily recalled.

But since thats not possible with the pandemic, were having our first Virtual Managers Conference this year, he continued, as well as an online celebration of Mr. Catans birthday with the company.

Chuckling, Atienza added, To be honest, we dont have any experience creating, handling or facilitating an online conference but were drawing on what weve experienced from other online conferences that weve attended.

Blessing in disguise

As Mapecons tradition, however, the company will nevertheless join the National Committee on Urban Pest Controls (NUCP) commemoration of National Urban Pest Control Week in this final leg of October.

The National Urban Pest Control Week is usually held in the third week of September along with the NUCP-organized conference, but similarly, they will hold a virtual conference as everyone is forced to do today, Atienza noted.

But basically, the event is held to remind the public and industry stakeholders about the basic principles of proper pest control, to address the common misconception that this process is all about spraying chemicals. Thats not true of course and can be very harmful, he furthered.

So, in order to have good pest control, you have to rely on the principles of effective pest management, which was actually released in 1975 via Health Circular 155. Now there are seven principles and these are what the NCUP reminds participants every year.

Ever open minded to the changing times, Atienza actually believes that the idea of virtual commemorations is a blessing in disguise.

Because of this pandemic, a lot of people are affected and a lot of changes had to be made. But we choose to view the situation as a blessing in disguise because we can finally accept and benefit from the use of technology. For example, weve come to realize we can actually meet with our managers and regional directors every month, rather than once a year as before, because we dont need to be face to face for thatand at no additional cost, he enthused.

Even better, using technology will also save both our company and our clients time because unlike before when we could only submit our proposal of service after weve done our site inspection, we can already minimize the face to face interaction via virtual inspection in their homes and offices.

As he looked back at the past seven months Atienza observed, Its been a challenging time indeed but its also been cornucopia of opportunities. If theres anything that Mapecon prides on, its creative honest work, and if not for the pandemic, we wouldnt be able to try all these possibilities. Necessity is really the mother of invention as they say.

Noting that the coronavirus pandemic is not the first trial or hardship that Mapecon has had to overcome through the decades, he informed The Sunday Times Magazine that companys theme for their conference is, very fittingly, Resiliency and Adversity Relying on Sound Foundation.

Everything were experiencing right now the hardships, the trials we know were equipped with the right tools to deal with them but our President Jesus Christ will not let us down during these times, Atienza averred.

So with this opportunity, I just want to assure everyone who has an interest in Mapecons success that we have no plans of stopping. In fact, Mr. Catan has recently provided us managers with a 100 year-plan for the company! So, theres definitely no stopping when it comes to innovation, creation and providing services with us, he continued.

The promise and commitment of Mapecon has been the same from the past 59 years and that will never change. Our promise is to stay true to our mission and vision. We promise to create employment and provide our fellow Filipinos a way toward a steady source of income. We promise our customers and friends that they will have holistic, integrated pest control technology that is environment friendly, safe to use and ever effective. We promise everyone that everything that we do and say will always be for the greater glory of our President Jesus Christ, Atienza ended.

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Meet the men behind Mapecons massive success The Manila Times - The Manila Times