Pilmico Foods Corporation, an Aboitiz Foods company, clinched six Gold Awards at the 43rd Regional Quality Circles Convention (RQCC), held on  July 17, 2025, at Chali Resort and Conference Center, Cagayan de Oro City. This remarkable achievement reflects Pilmico’s commitment to driving operational excellence and innovation.

Under the theme, “Continuing Implementation of Quality Circle Activity, Moving toward a Brighter Future of the Nation,” the event gathered companies from across Mindanao to showcase their most impactful Quality Circle (QC) and Kaizen projects. A Quality Circle is defined as a group of employees who collaborate to identify problems and implement sustainable solutions in the workplace. Meanwhile, Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on making continuous, gradual changes over time that lead to lasting positive change.

Pilmico’s Iligan site alone has 36 Quality Improvement Teams (QITS), each consisting of four to twelve team members, ranging from staff to supervisors. These teams identify issues in their respective work areas and determine the best approach for resolution. Problems with simple, direct solutions fall under Kaizen projects, while those requiring deeper analysis and long-term solutions are pursued as QC projects.

The annual convention is organized by the Mindanao Association for Quality (MAQ)—the Northern Mindanao chapter of the Quality and Productivity Association of the Philippines (QPAP). Its primary goal is to celebrate excellence in quality, productivity, innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement. 

“It was a humbling and fulfilling experience to have our Quality Circle (QC) project initiative recognized at the regional level,” shared Mark Pacaldo, Aboitiz Foods’ Reliability Mech Engineer – Flour Operations.

Pacaldo was one of the representatives of Team Enewrench from the Flour Operations department who presented their entry, “Reducing of Bulk Loading Time at the Flour Mill E-Packing Line.” He also shared his insights into the process that led to their innovation, “The process began with a thorough review of our operations, which proved to be challenging—particularly in gathering and analyzing data to accurately identify the root cause of the problem and formulate an effective solution. Implementing changes required significant effort, as it involved revising existing processes and validating our findings. As a young professional in the milling industry, receiving regional recognition for our idea was both an honor and a testament to the value of data-driven continuous improvement.”

🏆 Pilmico’s Gold Award-Winning Projects

Various teams from Pilmico presented case projects that streamlined processes across financial systems, logistics, quality preservation, and even corporate social responsibility (CSR). 

Here is the list of the award-winning projects presented by Pilmico:

Under the Quality Circle Projects category:

1. Team POST GOODS THINKER: Achieved a 90% closure rate for unpaid SOA payments to suppliers by resolving system receiving issues by July 2024
2. Team INNO-SAP by the Planning, Governance, and Analytics team from Supply Chain: Streamlined Truck Turnaround Time (TAT) through data-driven strategies to increase KPI performance for flour finished goods  
3. Team ENERWRENCH: Reduced bulk loading time at the Flour Mill E-Packing Line, enhancing efficiency and throughput.

Under the Kaizen Projects category:

1. Team FARINA-CATALYX: Increased the number of innovative ideas produced by team members, surpassing 12x the annual target, which led to quality improvement, process efficiency, and cost savings
2. Team FLOOGALS – Automated the Beneficiary Baseline Assessment process for increased accuracy and efficiency for the CSR team
3. Team MIND BENDERS: Improved quality preservation of macro raw materials through enhanced process controls, leading to less fumigation costs 

These awards secure Pilmico’s spot at the Productivity Improvement Circles National Convention (PICNC) 2025, where the teams will represent Northern Mindanao and present their projects on the national level in October in Baguio City.

Pilmico’s strong showing at RQCC 2025 is a testament to its culture of excellence, grounded in Aboitiz Foods’ core value of Innovation and the behavior of being ‘Always Better.’ By continuously challenging the status quo and striving for smarter, more efficient solutions, Pilmico teams are making a meaningful impact—one idea, one project, and one breakthrough at a time.

FAQs

1. What is the 43rd Regional Quality Circles Convention (RQCC) 2025? 

The RQCC is an annual convention organized by the Mindanao Association for Quality (MAQ), the Northern Mindanao chapter of the Quality and Productivity Association of the Philippines (QPAP). It brings together companies from across Mindanao to showcase their most impactful Quality Circle (QC) and Kaizen projects, celebrating excellence in quality, productivity, innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

2. What are considered QC and Kaizen projects?

A Quality Circle is defined as a group of employees who collaborate to identify problems and implement sustainable solutions in the workplace. Meanwhile, Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on making continuous, gradual changes over time that lead to lasting positive change.

3.  How did Pilmico Foods Corporation perform at the 43rd RQCC 2025? 

Pilmico Foods Corporation, an Aboitiz Foods company, achieved remarkable success at the convention, clinching six Gold Awards for their Quality Circle and Kaizen projects.

4. What is the significance of these awards for Pilmico? 

These awards highlight Pilmico’s strong commitment to operational excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement. They demonstrate the company’s dedication to Aboitiz Foods’ Value of Innovation and its culture of continuous improvement for more efficient solutions.

5. What’s next for Pilmico after their success at the RQCC? 

Pilmico’s success at the RQCC 2025 secures their spot at the Productivity Improvement Circles National Convention (PICNC) 2025. Their teams will represent Northern Mindanao and present their award-winning projects on a national level in October in Baguio City.