BRIEFS: First Balfour Celebrates 50 Years

First Philippine Holdings Corp. (FPH) officials, led by chairman and CEO Federico Lopez (third from left), raise their champagne glasses to celebrate the 50th anniversary of subsidiary First Balfour, one of the country’s leading engineering and construction companies. Also in photo are (from left) Francis Giles Puno, FPH president and COO; Anthony Fernandez, First Balfour president and COO; and Dr. Fiorello Estuar, First Balfour senior adviser.

Lopez-led First Balfour, one of the country’s leading engineering and construction companies, celebrated its 50th anniversary on 28 November by hosting a dinner and special ceremony. The event gathered those who played instrumental roles in the company’s growth over the years, including valued clients, key business partners, top suppliers and government officials.

A subsidiary of First Philippine Holdings (FPH), First Balfour originally began in 1969 as a spinoff of Manila Electric Company’s former power plant and design unit, called the Philippine Engineering & Construction Corp. (PECCO). In 1976, PECCO changed its name to Engineering & Construction Corp.of Asia (ECCO-Asia) to signal the company’s expansion into the construction of power transmissions, oil refineries and industrial plants. First Balfour, as it is known today, emerged after a series of mergers and more name changes spanning almost a decade.

When First Balfour first started out, it relied mainly on business from other Lopez Group companies. It has since then expanded its business by helping more and more projects being undertaken by companies outside the FPH Group. Today, the bulk of First Balfour’s revenues come from non-FPH clients.

SM Markets announced on Friday that 29 of its stores will be opened for 24 hours starting 8 December.

The decision was made to give shoppers a wide latitude of time to shop for their Christmas needs.

SM Hypermarket Mall of Asia is the first one to operate 24 hours from 8 to 23 December and 26 to 30 December followed by SM Hypermarket North Edsa, Fairview, Pasig, Marketmall, Jazz, Las Piñas, Sucat, Lopez, Bicutan, Clark, Taytay, Novaliches, Monumento, Cainta, Antipolo and Cherry Congressional on 16 to 23 December and 28 to 30 December.

Also adopting the non-stop operations are SM Supermarket Fairview and North Edsa on 16 to 23 December and 27 to 30 December. Savemore Market follows the 24/7 operations on 18 to 23 December and 27 to 30 December with Savemore Market Angono, Alapan Imus Cavite, Amang Rodriguez, A. Venue, Light Residences, Anonas, Novaliches and Cedar Peak Baguio. On 22 to 23 December and 29 to 30 December, SM Hypermarket Muntinlupa and FTI will also follow.

Customers can now shop for Noche Buena after work and those on night shifts can make their Christmas visits at wee hours of the night. Morning people can finish their groceries even before getting ready for work and those who hate crowds can now choose to shop at later hours for their convenience.

To be updated on the holiday store hours of SM Markets’ over 300 branches nationwide, you may visit smmarkets.ph.

LG Electronics (LG) recently held the first LG Connect in the Philippines at Green Sun Hotel in Makati. The event was held in partnership with its distributor in the country, Vernatech International Incorporated. Highlights of LG Connect 2019 include a conference and exhibition of LG’s Information Display (ID) and solutions across all industries.

LG Information Displays are B2B Displays that utilize high performance panels optimized for commercial use, ideal in environments with high humidity due to its conformal coating that prevents corrosion of the main board. These displays are built for long-term use, with fewer malfunctions of the built-in- media player.

LG’s in-plane switching (IPS) B2B displays support 24/7-hour operations, portrait mode installations, wide viewing angles, and durability in outdoor and semi-outdoor environments. Compared to the panels of other brands, the LG IPS panel leads in terms if viewing angle, color accuracy, and operation temperature. These solutions create more value for end-users, whereas normal B2C displays have limited performance and functions for commercial use.

LG’s Signage and Hospitality TV features a content management solution, in-room TV solution, and the ability to integrate with existing solutions such as built-in PC and webOS platforms.

LG’s Information Displays also have a comprehensive portfolio of unique products. The lineup includes the transparent OLED, OLED wallpaper, 86/88” ultra stretch models and transparent LED film.

Teleperformance Philippines leaders recently shared their expertise on talent and leadership development in the Contact Center Association of the Philippines’ (CCAP) the GenNext Leadership Forum and Team Leader Summit held in Taguig and in Cebu.

In the conference’s Manila leg, Teleperformance Philippines’ Director for Learning and Development Olive Ybañez joined a panel of industry professionals to discuss how professionals can transition to leadership roles. Meanwhile, in the Cebu leg, vice president for operations Toni Tompar shared insights on the topic “Leadership in the Age of Disruption.”

Curiosity, according to Ybañez, plays an important role in an employee’s leadership journey. “Being able to say ‘There’s something that I might not know and I need to find the people who can help me’ plays a vital role in how much growth and development a person can accomplish when they take on a leadership role.”

A leader with a healthy dose of curiosity for the world would also have a healthy attitude towards change, said Ybañez. To be an agile learner, one must always be curious enough to learn new things to update their skills and knowledge in order keep up with the changes in the industry.

“You will see in your organization that the people who shine are those who learn fast and often times those who learn before they need to use it,” she said.

With the speed of changes that the global industry undergoes, Ybañez also emphasized the importance of learning agility. “Change is always happening, even more so now. That is why learning agility has never been more important. Clients have their own way of doing things and may be using new technology. Learning agility will keep you on top of all these changes,” Ybañez said.