HISTORY
Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation (MVC), the only chlor-alkali manufacturer in the Philippines and also the largest importer of liquid caustic soda today, traces its humble roots to a shoe factory.
Mabuhay Rubber Corporation was founded in 1934 by the late Judge Guillermo B. Guevara. However, when its production facilities were completely razed during World War II, the company had to cease operations.
Two decades after the end of the war, seeing the need to support the country’s manufacturing base, Judge Guevara and his son Victor revived the company, shifting to the production of caustic soda and polyvinyl chloride resin—chemical products used in making a wide range of consumer goods.
In 1965, the Guevaras engaged the technical services of Shin-Etsu Chemical Industry Co. Ltd. of Tokyo to set up an amalgam caustic soda and PVC resin plant in Iligan City in Northern Mindanao.
In 1966, the company changed its name to Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation (MVC) for closer identification with its main product: PVC resin.
The 1970s was a period of expansive growth for MVC. A chlor-alkali plant using diaphragm cells was put on-stream in 1979, increasing the company’s production capacity four-fold. To expand into new markets, the company set up a liquid chlorine plant. It also put up tank depot facilities in Manila, Cebu, Batangas, and Negros Oriental. In 1980, MVC acquired its first chemical marine tanker—M/T Snoopy I—to transport its new product, hydrochloric acid.
With the infusion of capital from the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and Maria Christina Chemical Industries (MCCI) in 1990, MVC was able to flex its financial muscle for future development. This included the expansion of its Batangas depot in 1992. In 1993, the company completed the construction of the Mabuhay Premium Bleach Plant (MPBP) at the Laguna Technopark, and also put up a tank for sodium hydroxide in Sasa, Davao City.
In December 1996, MVC together with Tosoh Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation and BPI signed a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) to establish a PVC resin plant in Bataan under the name of Philippine Resins Industries, Inc. (PRII). Shortly thereafter, in February 1997, MVC had a successful Initial Public Offering at the Philippine Stock Exchange. The capital raised was used to fund MVC’s equity in PRII.
After the 1997 Asian economic crisis, MVC decided to completely move out of the PVC business to focus on its core competence: the chlor-alkali business. In 2001, MVC divested its shares in PRII and started construction of its first Ion Exchange Membrane (IEM) caustic soda plant.
The decision paid off. In 2003, MVC completed its first IEM plant in Iligan; launched M/T Snoopy II, its second marine tanker for hydrochloric acid; and consolidated its Luzon logistics operation in the Bauan, Batangas depot.
In 2008, the company inaugurated its second IEM plant. It was built with state-of-the-art chlor-alkali production technology utilizing the n-BITAC electrolyzers supplied by the Chlorine Engineers Corp. Ltd. of Japan, in partnership with Tosoh Corporation.
To better serve the logistics requirements and the demands of the market, MVC commissioned its first caustic soda tanker, M/T Snoopy III in 2011.
Between 2000 and 2015, Tosoh Corporation acquired a total of 87.97% of the total outstanding shares of MVC to become the majority shareholder of the company.
Tosoh Corporation is a Japanese chemical and specialty products and materials group that comprises over 140 companies worldwide and a multi-ethnic workforce of more than 11,500 people. Tosoh is also the largest chlor-alkali producer in Japan. Its principal markets include chemical and petrochemical, construction, automotive, consumer electronics, information technology, bioscience and environmental markets.
Tosoh was established in 1935 and in the 80 years that it has been in business, Tosoh has built balanced product lines of commodity chemicals for industry and of specialty products and materials for high technology and niche markets.
Currently, MVC operates a modern, highly-efficient, and environment-friendly manufacturing plant complex in Iligan City, and the Mabuhay Premium Bleach Plant at the Laguna Technopark in Biñan, Laguna. It has its own port facilities where salt is unloaded from foreign vessels and liquid products are loaded through a network of pipelines.
To this day, the company has retained the name Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation, renowned and respected in the industry as the sole domestic producer and major importer of caustic soda and enjoys a leading position in the hydrochloric acid, sodium hypochlorite and chlorine markets.
With Tosoh’s support, MVC aims to be the leading producer and supplier of chlor-alkali products and related chemicals and services in the Philippines