What started out as a case study by his daughter on facilities management while she finished her degree in the United States in the 1990s unexpectedly led businessman and lawyer Edilberto Bravo to embark on a new business venture that has now become a key revenue-earning subsidiary for U-BIX Corp.
The case study by his daughter gave Mr. Bravo the idea to start his own facilities management services business in the Philippines, even though he already had U-BIX as a successful business.
U-BIX is a pioneer and leading provider of well-known office equipment, laser printing, plain paper copying and digital document solutions for brands such as Konica Minolta, Riso and Okamura.
Mr. Bravo has varied business interests aside from U-BIX and FMI. He is president of East West Capital Corp., Bravo Golf Corp. and Pivo Praha Corp.
He also sits on the board of directors of Insular Life Health Care Inc., Insular Investment and Trust Corp. and is a member of the Philippine Bar Association, Integrated Bar of the Philippines, as well as the New York State Bar Association and the American Bar Association education.
Thus, in 1996, what began as a case study became a new business subsidiary for U-BIX after Mr. Bravo, in his trademark style of pursuing and starting his business ventures, successfully pursued and negotiated two licensing agreements that led to the creation of Facilities Managers Inc. (FMI), which has changed the local facilities management business.
A facilities management company is an outsourced business hired to maintain, operate and manage the physical buildings and day-to-day services of another organization.
FMI basically provides its clients with cleaners, electricians, plumbers and other service personnel that a company would otherwise have to hire and manage directly for the maintenance and upkeep of its buildings and office facilities.
FMI was established on Oct. 22, 1996, when US-based Service Master — a leader in the restoration and cleaning industry — signed a licensing agreement with U-BIX Corp.
ServiceMaster, founded in 1929, has over 90 years of experience in professional facilities management to institutions, businesses, schools, hospitals and health care facilities worldwide.
FMI is as committed to providing and maintaining the high quality and standard of service that its American licensor established.
But in establishing FMI, Mr. Bravo’s aim was also to provide quality jobs that offer a steady income for Filipinos while continuously upskilling and building the capabilities of trainees.
Mr. Bravo had previously explained to me that educating and providing gainful employment to one Filipino has a multiplier effect on their families, as the gainful employment of one member enables the education of another family member, which eventually brings in more money to uplift more family members.
In fact, another venture of Mr. Bravo complements his other businesses through U-BIX Colleges Inc., his educational business venture which provides an “enrollment to employment” pipeline.
Mr. Bravo’s desire to educate and improve the skills of Filipino workers extends to helping them acquire language skills, particularly, for those aiming to work in Japan.
Proficiency in Nihonggo is one of the key requirements for seeking employment in Japan.
FMI now has hundreds of clients across several varied industries — from schools and hospitals, which include the Metro Pacific Health Group that includes Makati Medical Center, Cardinal Santos Medical Center and Asian Hospital and Medical Center, to technology companies and multinational institutions such as Google, J.P. Morgan Chase and Texas Instruments to name just a few.
It was interesting to learn that their cleaners are not called janitors, but are addressed as sanitation personnel and earn as much as P25,000.
Another business offshoot from FMI, due to its commitment to environment and sustainability, is EnviroStar Products Inc., which is a commercial supplier and distributor of professional sanitation and cleaning products.
FMI’s top executives, managing director and president ( Col. ) Demosthenes Doplayna and deputy managing director and senior assistant vice president Rodrigo Rodriguez were both sent to the US for training and continue to attend annual conventions on facilities management to remain up to date on new trends in their line of business.
An interesting background about Col. Doplayna is that he actually served as part of former president Corazon Aquino’s Presidential Security Group in Malacañang under the leadership of then Lt. Col. Voltaire Gazmin.
Doplayna attests that Cory was indeed a very brave woman, refusing to vacate Malacañang even with the threat of a possible air attack on the historic presidential residence.
Mr. Doplayna hosted the luncheon last week, in lieu of Mr. Bravo who was feeling under the weather, to highlight FMI’s 30th anniversary this week, which will be celebrated at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Ayala Center, bringing together FMI’s more than 6,000 employees.
Mr. Bravo will hopefully be feeling better by then and ready to embark on new business ventures.
In fact, according to his staff, Mr. Bravo’s current interest is in the agriculture sector, specifically breeding cattle livestock, especially since the country imports most of its beef products.
Mr. Bravo has previously ventured into the food business venture with Duck Donuts whose main branch is beside the Makati City Hall.
No less than former US Ambassador Mary Kay Carlson inaugurated the first Duck Donuts branch.
Soon to observe his ninth decade, Mr. Bravo is still very much involved in his various businesses even as he has trained his son and daughter to manage them.