Exporters and suppliers convened last December 02, 2009 at the Materials Opportunities conference held at the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF) building. Featuring the materials gathered during the Department of Science and Technology Region VII's Materials Reconnaissance Trips around the Visayas-Mindano (VisMin) region, more than a hundred manufacturers, exporters, suppliers, government agencies and business support organizations from the VisMin area took part of the conference.
The conference was part of the whole day Exporters' Congress initiated by the Department of Trade and Industry Provincial and Regional offices (DTI), German Technical Cooperation (GTZ-SMEDSEP), Philexport and the Department of Science and Technology Region 7 (DOST 7) and supported by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF), Cebu Fashion Accessories Manufacturers and Exporters Inc (Cebu FAME) and Cebu Gifts Toys and Houswares Inc. (Cebu GTH).
The afternoon's conference which was also dubbed "Materials R&D" conference was the culmination of the second phase of DOST 7's Interregional Value Chain to Support SET-UP Project which focused on the fashion accessories and Gifts, Toys and Housewares (GTH) sectors. Results of the project were exhibited at the CFIF Lobby and the materials gathered are now part of the Materials Library collection.
The conference was graced with the presence of DOST Undersecretary Fortunato dela Peña who emphasized the importance of research and development to increase the industry's competitiveness. Engr. Jesus Zamora Jr. of DOST presented the results and the learnings of their Materials sourcing project and identified the materials discovered in the regions visited. ECCP Project Manager Ingrid Haufe introduced the chamber's efforts at materials sourcing, research and development through the Materials R&D Project. She also provided inputs on the latest trends on Eco-design and sustainable materials.
The Materials Library which is a joint project of CFIF, ECCP and DOST7, is a component of CFIF's business information service program, whose facility is open to all creative sectors. The other service of CFIF's information unit—housed in the CFIF Information Centre—was explained by Liberty Pinili, the foundation's information and advocacy officer. ECCP Materials R&D Project Officer Faye Seña encouraged suppliers to donate swatches and presented the advantages of being part of the library.
Suppliers who were present during the conference donated more material swatches for the library which are now being catalogued and will soon be published online. Interested parties who missed the conference can still view the results of the materials sourcing mission and the materials collection by visiting the CFIF building in North Road, Jagobiao, Mandaue City. North Road, Jagobiao, Mandaue City.
~ January 30, 2010
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