Philippine Business Magazine: Volume 8 No.2 - Enterprise
Framed Up
Frames and decors from volcanic debris
By Anne Ruth dela Cruz

Sonny Osi’s creativity and courage produced world-class frames and decors

The 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo killed thousands of people, buried a number of towns, and changed the lives of a lot of people. Among them was 36-year-old Rossano “Sonny” Osi.

Sonny was the owner of a ceramics factory in Porac, Pampanga, one of the badly devastated towns. He was a second year medicine proper student when the eruption took place. The rampaging lahar buried Sonny’s ceramics factory and this made him start having second thoughts about pursuing his medical studies. “The tragedy made me think of what I wanted to do with my life,” Sonny relates in an interview at his residence-cum-showroom in Quezon City. “Could I help more people by becoming a doctor or by rebuilding my business?”

Goodbye Med School
After much thought, Sonny made the painful decision of dropping out of med school. He relocated his ceramics factory to Angeles City and thought of what to do with the tons and tons of lahar (volcanic debris) that accumulated not only in Porac but also in neighboring towns. With his background in medical technology and what he calls his “artistic calling,” Sonny came up with the idea of making picture frames out of lahar. This gave birth to Excel Frames & Decors in 1992, producing expensive-looking items because of their metallic look. Surprisingly, the prices range from P70 to P2,000, making them affordable to the A, B and C markets.

To date, Sonny has 88 employees, among them artists who help him with new designs. “I have trained 12 supervisors myself and when I am away, they are the ones who act as my quality control people.”

Sonny is a hands-on manager but he treats his employees as partners in his business. With this attitude, he is able to cultivate loyalty and a sense of belonging among this employees. “Since they are part of the family, my employees can share in the achievements of the business and feel that they are part of the success,” he adds.

At the start, Sonny depended on his old customers and word of mouth to sell his products. Later, he teamed up with 10 other entrepreneurs and established The Wedding Group at the Alabang Town Center. The store sells wedding gowns, shoes, and all the accessories that are needed in a wedding.

Going Global
Sonny, however, was not content with his success in the local market. He wanted to go international and show the world that the Filipino is capable of quality products. After just two years, Sonny had the opportunity of going international. Then Trade Underse-cretary Nelly Villafuerte saw Sonny’s potential in the export market and encouraged him to coordinate closely with the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions.

With the full backing of Undersecretary Villafuerte and former Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor, Sonny took part in his first trade fair in 1993 in Hong Kong. Sonny’s frames were a big hit and he was immediately deluged with orders. With his initial success in Hong Kong, Sonny started conquering other parts of the world, specifically the United States and Europe. His hard work paid off and in 1999 he was declared the winner of the Arch of Europe Gold Star Award — Europe’s most prestigious quality award for excellence in quality and corporate image.

Since then, other accolades started pouring in. In that same year, Excel Frames & Decors was awarded Arco Europa Compromiso Calidad Cien CC100 — Europe’s seal of world class quality. This year, he will be flying to New York to receive the International Quality Summit Award and to Geneva for the International Star Award.

Sonny attributes his success to hard work and to staying focused on what he wants to achieve. “When something like the Mt. Pinatubo eruption takes place, people lose all hope and get discouraged,” he relates. “It’s useless to wallow on such things but think of ways to rise up again.”

Sonny wants to set up shops in New York and Paris. “You have to be where the action is and that is in New York and Paris,” he explains. “I want to show the whole world that the Filipino is capable of producing world class quality products.”