Gathering enough capital from his own savings, Guillermo M. Figueroa started manufacturing handicraft and furniture in the early 1950’s with just one planer, one handsaw and some raw materials. Later he formed Rattan Originals Inc. Today, the factory sits on eight hectares of land in Talisay City with a workforce of almost 1,000 employees.

The principal products then were rattan furniture pieces and parts. The company also manufactured buri furniture reinforced with rattan, and lauan cases with rattan trimmings. Rattan Originals’ furniture were exported to the United States, Mexico, the Carribean, West Germany, Japan, Australia, Greece, France and Italy. Two (2) classic examples of its accomplishments were: a) supplying furniture for a hotel in Cancun, Mexico where the Summit Meeting in 1981 was held, and b) furnishing a 200-room hotel in Athens, Greece where the Miss Universe beauty pageant was held. In fact, the company was the First recipient of the Golden Shell Award in 1982 for excellence in exports, given by the then Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Because of the late Guillermo M. Figueroa’s foresight and in anticipation of the then impending rattan shortage, he conceptualized Casa Cebuana Incorporada in 1986. Its thrust was to specialize in the manufacture of wood furniture.

Today, Casa Cebuana Incorporada is one of the leading manufacturers of high-end quality furniture, which are being exported to the United States, Europe, the Middle East, South America and South Africa. The company has shifted and upgraded their wood working machines from manual to semi-automatic state of the art equipment producing only for the best names in the furniture industry.

Guillermo M. Figueroa’s daughter, Angela Figueroa-Paulin now runs Casa Cebuana Incorporada as President and CEO.