KOOKABOORA CONTAINER CORPORATION: Maybe Tomorrow

When the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga opened its gates for investors in light and medium industries, the Kookaboora Container Corporation (KCC) was among the first ten companies to locate in the zone’s premises. KCC manufactures containers of various shapes and sizes which are used by manufacturers of industrial chemicals, food products, cooking oil, motor oil, and others.

The production department of KCC is headed by Engr. Nicolas Aisporna, a licensed mechanical engineer. He is a tickle for discipline. When even small mistakes happen in his department, he personally calls the offending employees and metes the appropriate penalty. As a result, his department was judged best in efficiency. Very minimal wastages in materials and time were recorded by the department.

Under the direct supervision of Engr. Aisporna are 10 supervisors who are graduates of engineering courses and with an average of three years work experience. Ten workers report to a supervisor. All of the workers are high school graduates. All employees including the supervisors and the workers are paid on a monthly basis. The workers, however, are required to produce a minimum number of units per day.

During the slack seasons, workers are engaged only from 50% to 75% of their normal working hours due to lack of sufficient job orders. No worker is laid off by the company and everyone receives full pay. This is so because of the strong recommendation made by Engr. Aisporna to the top management. Slack seasons last up to three months. At the fourth month, job orders begin to pour in and everybody starts to cover 100% of their working time.

On the seventh month of the current year, orders were received at more than the normal capacity of the company. For the first time since the company began operating, the department will be required to work