TOYOTA OPENS ACCESSORIES FACILITY
Toyota Motor Phil. (TMP) recently inaugurated its Post-production Installation Option facility in a new building inside the Toyota Special Economic Zone in Santa Rosa, Laguna.

The facility was established to better serve Toyota customers’ needs through timely delivery of attractive accessorized products. The facility is now working on products for the Toyota Hiace Super Grandia and the Toyota Racing Development variant of the Vios. Leading the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the facility’s inauguration are TMP Senior Executive Vice President Dr. David Go (left) and TMP President Michinobu Sugata (right). Witnessing the event are (from left) Toyota Dealer Association President William Li, TMP Marketing Executive Vice President Yuji Goto, TMP Manufacturing Executive Vice President Kenji Kitamura and TMP Marketing First Vice President Raymond Rodriguez.

HYUNDAI, GAWAD KALINGA START SOCIAL PROJECT
HARI Foundation Inc., (HFI) the corporate social responsibility arm of Philippine distributor of Hyundai vehicles Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI), announced it recently held a ground-breaking ceremony with Gawad Kalinga (GK) for the Hyundai Center for Green Innovation (HCGI) at the Enchanted Farm of the GK Center for Social Innovation (GK-CSI) in Barangay Encanto, Angat, Bulacan.

The activity held on October 7 marked the ninth anniversary of GK and the start of construction of the HCGI, a joint project of HFI and GK, the foundation said, adding that its role is to provide funds for building the HCGI, conceptualize the site’s design, and manage the project.

“This is to capture a major initiative in the country, with Hyundai taking the lead in building the HCGI in the first Enchanted Farm,” HFI quoted GK founder Antonio Meloto as saying. “Together, we want to usher in a new phase of our work as we move towards creating a sustainable way of living for GK communities and others in the neighboring areas.”

HFI said it follows Meloto’s “Save the poor, save the environment; Save the environment, save the poor” initiative, and that the HCGI will serve as a venue to train various stakeholders on the best practices on environmental protection and preservation, as well as educate the youth and other sectors on the importance of becoming responsible stewards of the environment.

Echoing the design discipline of the GK-CSI, HFI said its architects used stone, glass and grass in the HCGI’s construction and fused these with the ethnicity of the bahay kubo and the Hyundai design philosophy of Fluidic Sculpture.

The ceremonial ground breaking was led by HARI executives Chairman Edward Go, Chairman Emeritus and HFI Chairman Richard Lee, and President, Chief Executive Officer and HFI President Fe Perez-Agudo, together with GK Founder Antonio Meloto and Executive Director Jose Luis Oquiñena. The detailed HCGI scale model, unveiled by HARI, HFI and GK executives, features a 300-seat main hall, garden and four small breakout areas that will accommodate HCGI’s future “green innovation camps.”

SHELL AWARDS JEEPNEYS TO RAFFLE WINNERS
Shell Pilipinas has announced the five lucky winners in the “Sariling Pampasadasa Shell Rimula” raffle promo who were awarded brand-new passenger jeepneys. The winners are Jose Ma. de Leon, a system officer from Metro Manila; Marcelino Cotino, a jeepney driver and Shell Pepeng Pasada member from Northern Luzon; Catherine Co, a businesswoman from Southern Luzon; Geoffrey Lidon, a board member of the Cebu Integrated Transport Cooperative; and Eduard Alamillo, a civil engineer from Mindanao.

“This is more than a raffle promo where we just give away prizes,” said Shell Lubricants Category Manager Gino Rodriguez. “This is also a way for Shell to give back and acknowledge the hard work and dedication that our customers put in their livelihood, whether they are jeepney drivers, office employees or entrepreneurs. Shell Rimula provides our customers an engine oil that works as hard as them, providing superior engine protection to meet the demands of every day driving.”