Ronnel C. Rivera
President
Gensan Shipyard & Machine Works, Inc.
It has been said that the mark of a strong man is the will to stand against misfortune. And perhaps this will is what drove Ronnel C. Rivera, president of Gensan Shipyard and Machine Works, Inc., to attain success in the face of adversity as he worked to build his company. Mr. Rivera was born to business. His father and role model, Rodrigo Rivera Sr., made a name for himself as a successful entrepreneur. Starting small, the patriarch established the RD Group of Companies, which today has 40 member firms. Mr. Rivera learned the ropes from his father. After completing his Business Administration degree from the University of San Carlos in 1996, he naturally joined the family business to co-manage the operations of the RD Fishing Group.
Seeing the potential for growth, Mr. Rivera expanded the operations of their family-owned shipyard to accommodate bigger fishing vessels. Doing so would lower rising fuel costs and save on travel time for ships to dry-dock in Cebu or Batangas. Obtaining permission from his father, Mr. Rivera began searching for suitable floating docks and commenced the expansion. He eventually found one in Korea and immediately made arrangements to purchase it for $500,000. Unfortunately, a typhoon struck before they could pull out the floating dock and it sank. To make matters worse, Mr. Rivera had not been able to obtain insurance to cover his losses.
Undaunted, Mr. Rivera pushed forward. “Location. Location.Location. That’s what they teach you in business school. Seeing that we were strategically located, with close proximity to the Pacific and the southern seas, gave me the drive to fight for this shipyard. The opportunities – local and international – were as vast as the Pacific,” he muses.
Finally, in 1998, Mr. Rivera was able to seal the deal on a relatively new floating dock from Korea. This time, he made sure that his purchase was solidly covered with insurance. With a new floating dry-dock in place, Gensan Shipyard and Machine Works, Inc. (GSMWI) began catering to the needs of the RD Fishing Fleet.
In 1999, the company registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission to engage in the construction, purchase, repair and operation of a shipyard, floating docks, warehouses and other ship repair facilities. It opened its doors to commercial ship repair and ship building in 2003. “GSMWI’s strategic location and close proximity to verdant fishing grounds in the Pacific has broadened its market to serve a wider variety of vessels, including domestic and international clientele,” says Mr. Rivera.
The first of its kind in Mindanao, the state-of-the-art shipyard covers approximately 200,000 square meters, with vertical and horizontal developments in varying stages of completion. It is home to two floating docks with a combined lifting capacity of 4,000 tons and a duo of slipways with a combined lifting capacity of 10,000 tons. Situated in one of the poorest provinces in the region, GSMWI has stimulated employment and livelihood for the community and its residents. “Shipbuilding and ship repair are in a capital and labor-intensive industry,” Mr. Rivera explains.
Considering the breadth of his investments, he underscores the importance of sustaining healthy partnerships with is large pool of workers. Responding to a multicultural community of employees, he established non-discriminatory operational policies and procedures to cut across cultural divides among his Christian and Muslim workers. In addition, Mr. Rivera built a masjid (mosque) within the company compound for his Muslim employees.
To boost the company’s shipbuilding capacity, Mr. Rivera is currently working out a joint partnership with a foreign shipyard to handle increasing overseas demand for new vessels. This partnership will include an influx of foreign capital, infrastructure and technology resources. With the passage of Republic Act 9295, an act promoting Philippine domestic shipping, Mr. Rivera sees an opportunity to venture into ship breaking. He also aims to develop the shipyard industry in the Sarangani region to bring in suppliers, contractors and auxiliary businesses.
Under Mr. Rivera’s guidance, GSMWI supports various livelihood, youth development, general safety training programs, environmental efforts and industry partnerships. It assists the Department of Transportation and Communications and the Philippine Coast Guard in the regular conduct of water search and rescue trainings.
Motivated by his desire to “give back” to his community, Mr. Rivera ran for public office and was elected a councilor of General Santos City. Mr. Rivera admits that holding public office has certainly added a complicated spin to his already busy life but he has no regrets.
“The growth of your business must translate to community growth – this I learned from my father. As a businessman, I want to take the CSR route, and going into politics gives me another platform to extend a helping hand,” he says.
Ronnel C. Rivera shares that he has never forgotten the lesson of his early catastrophic misfortune. “Adversity is a great teacher,” he says, “the key is not to give up because those who stand their ground achieve great things.”
He also urges budding entrepreneurs to share their successes. “See to it that you give back to your community. Help the less fortunate because you can and not for anything else. Believe me; success is so much sweeter this way.”
The winners of the Entrepreneur of the Year Philippines 2011 will be announced on October 12, 2011 in an awards banquet at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. The Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines will represent the country in the World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2011 in Monte Carlo in June 2012.
This article is published in Business World, September 29, 2011 issue.
