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Success Stories

A Bakery Uncovers Its Sweet Truth

“Of course we never expected a natural disaster to happen when we began operations. But whether conditions were harsh or not, we were compelled to work for a living. We never once thought we had made a mistake or about giving up.”
With those three sentences, Julia Lorena D. Manrique neatly summed up Moonbake Incorporated’s survival stance in the wake of the Mount Pinatubo eruption in June 1991 and Tropical Storm Thelma just five months later. Hot on the heels of the double disaster came the withdrawal of US military bases from the Philippines, a sharp hike in living costs, and a higher dollar-to-peso exchange rate.

MBP Leather: Bucking the Trend

What began as a simple business of designing office desk accessories soon took MBP Leather to the international stage with its Albedo brand. There, it was accorded the recognition it deserved for its high-quality leather products.
Five years and 400 employees later, MBP Leather received a coveted invitation to display its luxe accessories at Asia’s biggest industry showcase, the International Exhibition of Shoes and Leather Industry, held in Guangzhou, PR China.

Born in the Eye of a Financial Storm

It was 1998. Economies around the world were flailing to remain upright under the crushing blows of the global financial crisis. Indonesia was no different. Its economy was at the stormiest it had ever been but while many businessmen shivered at the terrible prospect of starting from scratch, one man decided that was exactly the […]

 

METI bannerAsian Economy and Productivity MapAPO and Eco Products
The first external evaluation of APO projects is conducted by independent experts.

A bimonthly Japanese edition of the APO News is published.

The Secretariat moves from Aoyama to Hirakawa-cho.
2000
The APO’s 40th anniversary is marked with the First International Conference on Productivity in the e-Age in New Delhi, along with the International Forum for SMEs.
2001
2nd World Conference on Green Productivity is held in Manila.

Lao PDR joins the APO.
2002
First APO web-based videoconferencing project on TQM is organized.
2003
Cambodia joins the APO.

Kuala Lumpur hosts the 1st Eco-products International Fair (EPIF) organized by the APO and others.

The One Village, One Product movement becomes part of the Agriculture Program.
2004
Bangkok hosts the 2nd EPIF.

The APO Regional Award is conferred on four individuals and the APO National Award on ten.
2005
After a productivity conference in Sandton, South Africa, cooperation with the Pan African Productivity Association takes off.

Singapore hosts the 3rd EPIF.
2006
An International Productivity Conference in Bangkok focuses on knowledge management.
2007
The EPIF in Hanoi attracts nearly 100,000 visitors.

An Observational Study Mission to Switzerland on Quality and Innovation is implemented with JETRO support.

The first self-e-learning course on the Balanced Scorecard launched.
2008
Manila hosts the 5th EPIF.

Singapore is appointed as the COE on BE, the first APO COE.

The APO participates in the Conference on the Global Economic Crisis in Tainan, Republic of China.
2009
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