MARCELO STEEL CORP.
was one of the businesses of industrialist Jose P. Marcelo, who had started as
a successful manufacturer of rubber shoes (Marcelo Rubber Co.). In 1948, he bought
the Nail Plant and its equipment of the government-owned National Development
Co., for Php100,000. He took over and made a million pesos in his first year of
operation.
By the 1950s, MARCELO STEEL CORP. was one of the
leading steel fabrication plants in the country. Its 12th year of
operations coincided with the centennial birthday of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, so it released
a series of corporate ads—6 in all-- that communicated his ideals and insights on various aspects of life
, that are shared by the giant steel company in the pursuit of its purpose and
business mission/vision. Accompanying these ads were reproduction of panintings
done by leading and rising artists of
the 1960s.
Service to Others
Before One’s Self. Rizal maintains that “the duty of modern man..is to work
for the redemption of humanity…and once man is dignified, there would be less
unfortunates and more happiness..” Similarly, the company has “a policy of
giving substantially, in cash and in kind, to various civic, charitable and educational
institutions.”The painting, by Gregorio Custodio, shows Rizal being put under
arrest by Spanish authorities in Barcelona.
Holding High the
Brow Serene. This ad refers to Rizal’s reminder that we should “work for a
purpose”. This is in synch with the vision of the company “which dreives
satisfaction from its role in providing livelihood to thousands of Filipinos,
in supplying vital requirements of the construction industry at low cost, and
in contributing substantially to a more stable national economy”. The painting,
showing Rizal soeaking “Los Indios Bravos”, was painted by Gabriel Custodio for
Caltex.
Behavior to
Deserve a Friend. “To have a good friend is a great fortune”, Rizal once
declared. The corporation has always affirmed that “its foremost aim is to
deserve the patronage and goodwill of the Filipino people. Th paining is by
Fernando Amorsolo Jr. showing Rizal with friends, Ferdinand Blumentritt and
MaximoViola.
The MARCELO enterprise became a large empire that, at its
peak, included a rubber plantation, a fertilizer, a small boat manufacturing
facility—aside from the shoe plant and the steel fabrication business.
Unfortunately, upon the death of the patriarch, the businesses collapsed in the
1990s, brought down by a repressive political regime, liberalization, and most
of all—festering family feud. The messages of Rizal, once inscribed in the company’s
own ads, apparently have all been forgotten.
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