UP ISSI is a consultant for the Manufacturing Productivity Extension for Export Promotion (MPEX) Program for the Mimaropa and Caraga Regions with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
According to the DOST website, MPEX is a program of DOST through the Technology Application and Promotion Institute that assists small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the manufacturing sector to improve their overall productivity.
UP ISSI is the productivity consultant to ten beneficiary firms of DOST MPEX in the Caraga Region and five firms in Mimaropa. ISSI extension officers visited these firms to identify strategies to improve productivity through assessment and survey of the firms’ present conditions and recommend productivity improvement measures for their immediate implementation.
The beneficiaries in Caraga are engaged in the manufacturing of fashion and food products, handicrafts, furniture and fixtures, automobile repair services, specialty food restaurant and catering services, agricultural equipment, and hydrated limestone trading.
Meanwhile, the beneficiaries in the Mimaropa Region (Marinduque) all belong to the food industry engaged in bread making, beverage manufacturing, siomai (dumplings) and siopao (steamed buns) making, and moringa crackers production.