Mandaue cooperative eyes fiberglass ukulele for export

A COOPERATIVE is planning to export its fiberglass ukuleles to Japan.

Heidi Fuentes, representative of Mandaue Subcon, said they have applied for a license to export and are waiting for its approval.

Mandaue Subcon, one of the nine cooperatives under the Mandaue City Cooperative Development Office (MCCDO), began manufacturing fiberglass ukuleles in August 2014.

Fuentes said the Japanese have expressed interest in the fiberglass ukuleles.

“An advantage of fiberglass ukuleles compared to wood is that it has a faster production time,” she said.

Fuentes added that wood, unlike fiberglass, is limited to the typical guitar-like design.

With fiberglass being a lighter and more flexible material, the cooperative is able to introduce more designs, an example of which is the “turtle back” design.

If that were to be done with wooden ukuleles, the back of the instrument would be too bulky and heavy, and may possibly affect the sound grade of the instrument.

The cooperative is slowly looking into incorporating more designs into the mix to make the ukulele more appealing to tourists and locals alike.

From casting, sanding, sound grading, pre-finishing, coloring and packaging, the process of creating one ukulele would take roughly two weeks.

However, since production is made through a processing line, the cooperative can make as many as 200 ukuleles a month.

Mandaue Subcon is a cooperative composed of former subcontractors from Mandaue export companies.

Currently, the cooperative caters more to tourists.

The fiberglass ukuleles may be found in small stalls in hotels and tourist spots, including Marco Polo, Shangri-La Mactan and the Mactan Shrine.

As many as 400 ukuleles are out in the market at present, both within and outside Cebu province. One is sold between P2,500 to P4,500, depending on sound quality.

“So far, the cooperative has gotten several inquiries for bulk orders,” Fuentes said.