Family atmosphere at Saipan Ice

For Saipan Ice & Water Co. employees Dolorisa Lisua and Lito Dizon, the office is their second home, which makes management and their co-workers their extended family.

“They allowed me to work part time here when I was still studying. The boss [Milagros P. Pellegrino] had been encouraging me to apply, so I tried to apply full-time and now I’m still here,” said Lisua, who has been with Saipan Ice for six years now.

“I feel comfortable working here. This is my second home and everyone is pretty much family to me,” added Lisua, who had to stop her studies at Northern Marianas College to work full time in order to provide for her soon-to-be 2-year-old son.

Dizon said management has also been kind to them that aside from getting their paychecks on time, they usually hold gatherings.

“Management treats employees like one of their own. They usually order food or have it catered then we eat like a one big family. It is a good team building exercise since it strengthens friendships and our relationship in the work place,” added Dizon, who has been with Saipan Ice for 13 years now where he is the current sales manager.

That family atmosphere has made Lisua, Dizon, and their co-workers more productive at work. It has also increased the company’s sales and revenues and Saipan Ice has never missed providing their employees’ salaries on time.

“Ever since I worked here we always get paid on time, sometimes it is one day in advance. Salary is one of the most important things for employees. You can’t tell your family to not eat or to your landlord that ‘I can’t pay rent today because my salary is delayed.’ So far, it has been a rewarding experience and we are well compensated,” said Dizon.

For Lisua, providing for her family, helping her with school stuff when she was still studying, and getting herself a brand new car are the rewards she got from working in the island’s first drinking water company.

“Working here helped me provide for my family. I can buy my son what he wants and at the same time, I used my salary to pay for my tuition and other school stuff when I was still studying at NMC. It also helped me get a new car,” Lisua said with a smile.

“I gained a lot of knowledge and experience here. My co-workers have been a big help to me by sharing what they know. Now, I’m planning to go back to school and take two more semesters. I have to fix my schedule so I won’t have any problems with work,” said Lisua, who was taking Liberal Arts at Northern Marianas College.

“We’re planning to relocate to the U.S. My family is in Denver, Colorado so I will again look for a job there and continue my studies.”

Dizon, who has more than 30 years of work experience including 12 years in the Middle East, said Saipan Ice has continuously reached out to the community especially after Typhoon Soudelor last year.

“We had our equipment here so we managed to provide water to our customers. Our water was always sold out after the typhoon. We also gave free water to families in Koblerville, Dandan and other areas of the island.”

Saipan Ice can produce 700 to 800 5-gallon bottles of water in an hour with their automatic bottling machine. They also have their own laboratory and chemists that do daily sampling and sanitation checks to make sure the product is safe. Their water tanks also has a filling capacity of 96,000 gallons.