The flaship of the H.M. Montenegro Group of Companies, Pacific Activated Carbon Co., Inc. (PACCO) was established in April 1972. During the same year, the company was registered with the board of investments (BIO) as a preferre-pioneer enterprise engaged in the manufacture and export of coconut-shell based activated carbon, an adsorbent used in air and water purification and gold recovery. In 1976, through deliberate efforts on the parts of PACCO, the company established a marketing tie-up with Calgon Carbon Corporation of the United States. As a result of this partnership, PACCO gained access to the lucrative markets of the United Stated, Europe, Australia and South Africa. Through the years, PACCO has developed the reputation in the international market as a manufacturer of superior quality activated carbon. In fact, the company's products, on many occasions, have been dubbed as "The Cadillac" of activated carbons, particularly in the gold recovery industry. To maintain this distinction and to abide by the company's two main corporate philosophies of " Striving for excellence" and "We aim zero defects", PACCO continues to undertake extensive research and development activities and to impose strict quality control standards on its products to ensure that the activated carbon produced by the company is of world-class standards. Apart from the quality of its products, PACCO takes pride on its contributions to the country's socio-economic development. With 100 percent of its raw materials sourced locally, the company has greatly contributed to economic development in the countryside, where it procures its raw materials-coconut shell charcoal-and where it has set up its plant (Tagolan, Misamis Orental)-thus, resulting in infrastructure development and employment generation in the rural areas of Mindanao. In 1989, PACCO's exlusive marketing arm, Calgon Carbon corporation, was judged as one of the ten most outstanding trading partners of the Philippines. It received the Galleon Award from the department of Trade and industry during that year. In 1991, PACCO became one of the ten recipients of the 1991 Golden Shell Award, an award given by the Department of Trade and Industry to companies in recognition for their excellence and pioneering efforts in an export industry.