A mighty story

Sep. 20 marks a very important date for the only wholly Filipino-owned cigarette manufacturing company as it celebrates its 71st anniversary.

Mighty Corp. is a fully integrated tobacco company, with its factories located inside a nine-hectare property in Malolos, Bulacan, Philippines. It is engaged in both tobacco processing, which includes fermentation of tobaccos for the cigar-blended cigarillos, and cigarette manufacturing.  The company has two cigarette manufacturing plants and one tobacco processing plant.

It also has a complete threshing and redrying plant, which supplies the necessary requirements for the cigarette manufacturing operations of the company. The two cigarette manufacturing facilities answer for the two major product lines of Mighty.

Here is a description of Mighty’s operations as told by one of their most loyal employees:

“The company boasts of a complete cigarette product line, the cigar blended cigarillos and the American blended cigarettes. The cigar blended cigarillos are a blend of dark air cured tobaccos. Its distinctive aroma and flavor has made the products of Mighty bywords in the Philippine cigarette market.

“Mighty produces the well-known products of La Campana Fabrica De Tabacos and Alhambra Industries. The two product lines of these two companies have a combined history of over a century, dating back to the Spanish colonial period.

“These cigarillos are known as Cortos and Regaliz Largos. The flavors of these cigarettes are a combined distinct Cigar Aroma and the smoothness of fully aged and fermented tobaccos. They are wrapped in a specialized cigarette paper, which gives the cigarettes their sweet taste and flavor.

“Mighty is currently the market leader in the cigarillos market in the Philippines.

“The other product is the American blended cigarettes, composed of fully aged flue cured Virginia and Burley tobaccos. They have a smooth taste and a satisfying tobacco flavor, available in non-menthol and menthol variants. Mighty has continuously been improving in this product category in recent years to answer for the growing demand for this type of cigarettes.”

But of course, Mighty’s story would not be complete without writing about the man who started the story.

Wong Chu King, a Chinese migrant, came to the Philippines during the war in search of greener pastures. When World War II broke out, he found himself enduring fear, hunger and pain.

When he survived the war, as his way of thanking God for giving him a second chance at life, he promised to help Filipinos who he already considered his kababayan rebuild their lives and fortunes.

This gave him the courage to put up a small factory and venture into the cigarette business with a few honest and trusted friends. At first he did everything – blending the tobacco, working as a salesman, deliveryman, collector, cashier and promoter of his products.

In 1945, Wong Chu King and his partners Ong Lowa, Baa Dy and Ong Pay set up La Campana Fabrica de Tabacos Inc., which had it first factory in Tayabas St., Manila. The second factory was then built in 1948 in Pasong Tamo, Makati, and in 1951, it acquired the present site of its head office.

In 1963, Wong Chu King founded the Tobacco Industries of the Philippines (TIP) in a nine-hectare property in Barrio Tikay, Malolos, Bulacan which became the future site of their manufacturing operations.

The succeeding years became difficult for the company but the ingenious Wong Chu King together with the unwavering support of his employees reestablished La Campana in 1985 to become Mighty Corp.

With hard work, Wong Chu King together with his Filipina wife Nelia and later with their children would grow the business into what it is today.

According to Rosario Marigomen, who has been with the company for the more than five decades and considers Mighty more of a big family than a business, the founder saw a culture of dedication and hard work among the employees and made sure that every employee and worker was appreciated.

Mighty gives back to its employees, distributors and tobacco farmers by aiding their livelihood and sending deserving children to school.

And that has been one of the secrets to its business success.

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