The SMS Story
The Birth of Superior Maintenance Services, Inc.
After a successful movie career in the 30’s and 40’s, Mila del Sol wanted to give back to the fans who made her famous. She thought the best way to do this was by getting into a business that would give people jobs. So, in 1965, after studying the janitorial industry in the United States, Mila del Sol, Jesus “Sonny” Tambunting, her eldest son and a former janitor in the United States, and his wife, Teresita Tambunting, together with some of their relatives, put up Superior Maintenance Services, Inc. As janitorial services weren’t very common during that time, it served as a pioneer in the Philippine manpower outsourcing industry. It was Mila del Sol’s way of saying thank you to the many fans who supported her during her career.
The First Office and the First Client
Mila rented the house of the late Senator Jose Diokno along Roxas Boulevard to serve as the first office of SMS as well as a home for her family. They used the house’s living room as the office and the garage as the training area for janitors. They only had a handful of employees. Mila was in charge of marketing, Sonny was in charge of operations and training the janitors, and Terry acted as the secretary. The company’s first client was Avellana & Associates, an advertising company located where the US Embassy is today. SMS used their space in order to train their first janitors.
Mila del Sol, The Sales Lady
Mila del Sol was the very first sales lady of SMS. When she was first trying to market the company’s services to potential clients, she noticed no one was really paying attention to her. Tired of being turned down, she thought of how companies would respond to her calls if she introduced herself with her screen name, Mila del Sol, instead of how she had been doing it by using her real name, Clarita Rivera. Instantly, after she made the shift, companies started wondering what kind of business proposal this big movie star had to offer them. “What did she know about business?”, they wondered. With her sales calls gaining interest, Mila del Sol started presenting in the boardrooms of companies like Philippine Airlines. Using her wits as an actress, Mila was able to convince many companies to give SMS a shot.
The Early Days of SMS
When SMS started, it was Sonny Tambunting himself who was giving the training to a small group of 3 janitors. Since the company didn’t own a phone, Terry Tambunting would go to the neighboring nightclub to borrow a phone in order to call up clients. Whenever there would be jobs for general cleaning, Terry would prepare the food for the janitors and when necessary, together with other members of the family, help in the actual cleaning of the client’s premises. The company started out by cleaning nightclubs. Some of its first big accounts include SSS, Allied Bank, SGV& Co., Far East Bank, Lyceum of the Philippines, and Philippine Airlines. SGV& Co. started with SMS in the 1960s and remains with it until today.
SMS serves the biggest US military bases in the world
SMS became a service provider for the biggest US military bases in the world at that time, Subic Naval Base (1971) and Clark Air Base (1973). SMS took care of the grass cutting and maintenance needs of these bases. With such a big area to take care of, SMS invested heavily in top-of-the-line equipment to serve these bases. The company earned the trust and confidence of the American government for its work. SMS served Clark Air Base for almost 20 years.
From Mother to Son
In 1974, Mila del Sol passed the leadership of the company to her eldest son and company co-founder, Sonny Tambunting. Under his leadership, SMS continued to grow, gaining the trust of more clients and putting more people to work, and by 1982, the company had more than 2,000 employees.
The Working Family
SMS has always been a family effort. All the children of Sonny and Terry, namely, Gus, Lindy, Joseph, RC, Sonny, and Ian, helped in the business, whether it was in the actual janitorial work to managing business operations to taking care of accounting. They all experienced how it was like to work in SMS.
To the Third Generation
In 1995, after more than 20 years at the helm of SMS, Sonny Tambunting passed on the leadership of the company to his eldest son, Gus Tambunting. Gus had learned the ropes of the business ever since he was young, training as a janitor for clients like the Bureau of Immigration and his own school, Colegio de San Juan de Letran.
A Group of Companies is born
In order to expand its business reach, the Tambunting family put up new companies, which complement the business of SMS. These are Product Providers, which offers products such as air purifiers and carpets, Supra Multi-Services, a manpower agency focused on serving other manpower needs, such as factory workers, and Plantas Verdes, a landscaping and rent-a-plant business.
SMS expands to the Visayas
In 1993, SMS Cebu was opened in order to cater to the growing janitorial needs of businesses in the Visayas region. SMS Cebu has employed thousands of workers ever since its establishment.
SMS Certified as World-Class
In June of 2002, SMS became ISO 9001-certified. This certification signified how SMS has met international standards in terms of quality management and processes. With the highest standards in place, SMS equpped itself to do business at an international level. Achieving ISO-status was a moment of pride for many in the company.