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100 YEARS OF SQUIRES,
BINGHAM & CO.! |
In 1905, two Englishmen traveled from Shanghai to the
Philippines to open up a shop for shooting – with a
camera. Roy Squires and William Bingham established a
photo printshop in the Walled City's, Calle Real called
Squires, Bingham & Co.
They soon expanded their business to general trading and
moved to Plaza Goiti in downtown Sta. Cruz. They started
importing and retailing an assortment of motorcycles,
sporting goods, including firearms and ammunition for
the general public.
By the 1930's, Squires Bingham Co. had become popularly
associated with sporting guns, and was fondly called the
“Sportmen's Headquarters”. By then, ex US Army Hospital
Corpsman Arthur D. Hileman had puchased the store from
the original owners.
In November 1941, just before the war broke out, Don
Celso S. Tuason purchased the store. In fact, he bought
the company in August, incorporated and registered on
November 25, 1941. Within three weeks later, the
Japanese invaded the Philippines. As conquerors, the
Japanese first order of business was to confiscate all
the firearms in the story and in the country.
During the war, Squires Bingham, located at R. Hidalgo
Street near San Sebastian Church, had to depend on its
clothing and haberdashery for its survival. After the
war, Squires Bingham Company was expanded into a
department store located in Escolta.
In the late 1940's, import and exchange controls were
imposed. Don Celso decided to go into manufacturing of
the most popular and most profitable item in the store –
firearms and ammunition.
As part of President Magsaysay's thrust on the
industrialization of the Philippines, the first license
to manufacture was granted to Squires Bingham
Manufacturing Company Inc. in 1952. The first product
manufactured in the Philippines was the Model 10 Bolt
Action Rifle. By 1958, the company transferred its
location to the present site in Marikina. The company
also started exporting its rifles and shotguns to
Thailand.
By the mid 1960's Don Celson Tuason began turning over
management to his sons, Bolo, Butch and Conkoy. Arms
Corporation of the Philippines was born in 1980, with
eldest son, Demetrio “Bolo” Tuason, as its Chairman and
President, until today.
Squires Bingham Cp., Inc. continues to exist today as
the holding company of the Celso S. Tuason family and
their varied business interests, including Arms
Corporation of the Philippines. |
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