From left to right are YCO Corporation President Jess Yumul, office manager Maria Teresa L. Terlaje, and staff members Susana Tenorio, Guillerma Penalosa, and Arvin Bacani.
YCO Corporation’s celebration of its 50-year journey this year is made more significant because of a group of loyal employees who also boast of long-running service for the corporation and its many customers.
Office Manager Maria Teresa L. Terlaje, who has been with YCO Corporation for 31 years now, finds the working environment and the people she works with to be stress-free. Also, she always feel young when going to work every day.
“If my boss would need me for another five years, I will continue to work here,” she added.
That kind of loyalty speaks much of Terlaje’s attachment to the corporation. Soon after retiring from her government job in 1994 at the age of 47, Terlaje started working for YCO Corporation as a cashier. A year later, she was promoted to accountant.
Terlaje, who is now 75 years old, said she has seen YCO Corporation grow and flourish in the last 31 years she’s been with them.
As the company celebrates its golden years in the hardware business, Terlaje said she is happy and grateful to be part of the company’s success.
YCO Corporation Do It Best store supervisor Bernard Pamintuan receives a call from a customer.
Bernard Pamintuan, YCO Corporation’s store supervisor for its Do It Best hardware store in Chalan Kiya, is another YCO Corporation veteran. He has been running the shop since 2007.
As supervisor, the 51-year-old Pamintuan is well-versed in all of the store’s hardware’s products. He guides customers on the specifics of every product on the shelves and sometimes helps customers explore different options in addressing their home improvement needs.
He is grateful to the corporation for being always there to support him and is happy with how things are being run. He is also grateful to their customers.
“I congratulate the company for 50 years and [for] still [going] strong,” he added.
Ermin Nufable, 47, has been with YCO Corporation more than half of his life. He started working for the company as a cook when it was still operating the Jollibee franchise on Saipan. He was one of the Jollibee crewmembers from the Philippines who opened the restaurant in November 1999.
He was then transferred to the YCO Hardware in 2003, even as the Jollibee store was still running at the time. With his new job, he had to adapt to a new work environment and learn totally different things.
“I am not so choosy in my job,” he said.
That has paid off for him because, after 26 years of working with YCO Corporation, he has been able to invest in some properties.
He believes his loyalty and obedience is key to his success as an employee. “Just follow our employers. Their being strict was just right, because the company needs reliable employees,” he said.
Nufable said he remains grateful to the Yumul family, which owns the corporation.
“They help me and take care of me. I also love to help them; sometimes I suggest improvements,” he said, adding that he recently shared with his employers that sales at True Value “is going up.”
Looking back at the years he’s been with the corporation, Nufable said, “if you love your job, you will be blessed. Dedication to work pays off.”
From left, front row, are Abraham Barce, Vicente Constantino, Clarita Frances Lizama, and Jaennalin Mae Bowie. From left, back row, are Icesac Perez, Ermin Nufable and Andrew Sublay.
Vicente Constantino, 62, has also been with YCO Corporation for almost 25 years now. The company’s general maintenance technician, he also went through a lot of learning experiences, starting as a welder at the auto shop that YCO Corporation used to operate.
When the company decided to shutter that operation, he was transferred to True Value. There, he had to study everything in the hardware, including inventory and customer relations.
Today, he said, “I am happy with my work because I am always willing to learn new things. That way, I expanded my skillset.”
Because of that, Constantino said, “I am very thankful to my employers. I am happy here with my job. Up to now, I’m still here.”
