Month: April 2002

Integrated Microelectronics, Inc. (IMI) today announced a new partnership between subsidiary Eazix, Inc. and Sharp Electronics (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. that could potentially catapult locally designed and manufactured electronic components in the global marketplace.

Eazix, Inc., the design arm of IMI, is now a member of Dream Team, a Sharp Electronics Singapore initiative that offers one-stop shopping solutions and design services to its customers. Dream Team combines the marketing and technological expertise of Sharp and that of established design and manufacturing houses such as Eazix and IMI.

As a member of Dream Team, Eazix will provide services such as system application development and component level design by adopting Sharp’s key components such as liquid crystal displays (LCD) and flash memories as well as pre-manufacturing and value engineering. The partnership also draws on the strengths of IMI, one of the country’s leading contract manufacturers and a member of the Ayala Group of Companies.

Says Arthur Tan, president and chief operating officer of IMI: “Being a member of Sharp Electronics Singapore’s Dream Team will further enhance the value proposition of the IMI Group as a product realization company for its strategic customers. This milestone is a recognition of the creativity of the Filipino.”

Masao Shimizu, managing director of Sharp Electronics Singapore, added: “With EAZIX’s strong reputation in its product development and design services and its high-volume manufacturing and logistics expertise, I am delighted to have such a reputed partner. It is my belief that our collaboration will lead to new innovative applications in the Philippine and global market.”

Global demand

Sharp Electronics Singapore launched Dream Team last year in response to the “growing demand for integrated products that meet the network-linked lifestyle of home, office and mobile communities.” Dream Team now has 15 business partners in six continents that provide customized development services and contract manufacturing in hardware and software design. Through these partnerships, Dream Team is able to offer cost-effective and high competency technology solutions for consumer electronic devices such as personal digital assistants, LCD-related products, and smart cards.

According to Tan, IMI’s knowledge-based capabilities make it an excellent partner of Sharp’s Dream Team. “We can ensure a seamless transition from product conceptualization to process design and high-volume manufacturing,” he notes. IMI currently serves leading Japanese multinational corporations in the hard disk drive and optical disk drive industries. It has also worked with global companies in the telecommunications, industrial, automotive and other electronics segments.

Meanwhile, IMI established Eazix, Inc. to assist customers in translating their ideas and technologies into products. The design house is focused on customized product design of digital multimedia, wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and global positioning systems (GPS), and Internet devices.

On its 40th year of uplifting the quality of life of many Filipinos, Ayala Foundation honored its partners, donors, and sponsors on “Funders’ Night” on April 22 at Onstage, Greenbelt Mall. The event highlighted various social development and cultural programs as well as future plans of the foundation.

Among those who were acknowledged are Washington SyCip and the SGV Foundation which gave one of their prized Fernando Zobel paintings on permanent loan to Ayala Museum.

Ayala Foundation was established by Col. Joseph McMicking and his wife Mercedes Zobel to uplift Filipinos through education and livelihood. Today, the social development arm of Ayala Corporation continues to focus on projects that build and sustain communities, promote culture and heritage, and provide Filipinos with the means to shape their lives.

Explains Victoria Garchitorena, president of Ayala Foundation: “Ayala Foundation takes up the challenge of empowering Filipinos, especially the under-resourced, to join the country’s journey to progress. We are ready to find innovative solutions to the age-old problems of illiteracy, of homelessness, of environmental degradation, of social turmoil and discontent.”

The foundation’s flagship program for youth development, the Center of Excellence in Elementary Education (Centex) now has more than 400 students in its Tondo and Bauan, Batangas campuses. Centex provides young, bright children from poor families with quality education at par with that of the country’s best private schools. The Centex children presented a musical production called “Ala-Ala-Mat” on Funders’ Night to thank all those who have supported the school and other programs of Ayala Foundation.

Global outlook

Ayala Foundation also unveiled plans for the new Ayala Museum, which is expected to open in 2004 as part of the redeveloped Greenbelt Park. It is set to become the new symbol of art and culture in Makati. As a venue for major international exhibitions, the new Museum aims to promote Filipino artists and the Philippines in the international art arena.

Ayala Foundation is also focusing on information technology projects to help prepare young Filipinos for the global economy. Project Youth Tech provides Internet laboratories and computer training to public high schools all over the country. More than 18,000 students and 180 teachers in 36 public high schools have benefited from the project since it began in 2000. Other IT-related projects of Ayala Foundation such as the Center for Technical Training Excellence, the Intel Computer Clubhouse, and the CISCO Networking Academies give technical skills training to students and out-of-school youth. In arts and culture, the Filipinas Heritage Library (FHL) creates electronic media and online research facilities for Filipiniana materials.

According to Garchitorena, a great part of the foundation’s work is made possible with assistance from generous donors and partners. It is an active member of the League of Corporate Foundations, Association of Foundations, the Makati NGO Network, and the Asia Pacific Philanthropy Consortium.

It has now ventured into tapping Filipinos abroad who wish to help their countrymen by establishing the Ayala Foundation USA as a conduit for their funds which then enjoys tax deductibility as well as a facilitator, monitor and documentor for the projects that will be funded in the country.

Says Garchitorena: “Through our partnerships, Ayala Foundation is able to arm Filipinos with the skills they need to bridge the gap between their dreams and their lives.”

The Ayala Group of Companies recently won the prestigious International Gold Quill Award for Publication Design for its 2000 Annual Reports. Presented by the International Association of Business Communicators, which counts 13,500 members in 58 countries, the Gold Quill Award recognizes excellence and outstanding achievement in business communication.

The Ayala Group 2000 Annual Reports focused on the Ayala Group’s commitment to youth development as theme. Designed by Jimenez D’Arcy, the annual reports also highlighted the group’s New Economy thrusts using leading-edge technology and systems that provide the best products and services to its customers. The International Gold Quill Award for Publication Design “recognizes the importance of the communication project’s goals and measured results and emphasizes the creative process of project execution.”

The Ayala Group’s award is one of only two Gold Quills that were given to communication programs from the Philippines. The other program was Kontra Kalat sa Dagat submitted jointly by Petron Foundation, Inc. and the Bataan Coastal Care Foundation. It won in the category Economic, Social and Environmental Development/Third World Development. Winners of the International Gold Quill Awards will be recognized at IABC’s international conference in Chicago this June.

The IABC, a non-profit international network of business communicators, annually reviews more than a thousand entries from communication professionals all over the world. Winners are selected by a blue ribbon panel of judges made up of IABC fellows, accredited business communicators, past Gold Quill winners and other leaders in the communication profession. This year, International Gold Quill Awards will be given to roughly 100 entries representing countries that include the United States, Hong Kong, Canada, Japan, Mexico and Australia.