Micmic Rojas: Man of Steel

More specifically, Micmic Rojas is the man of lightweight aluminum alloy wheels. And unlike most executives of car companies and its supporting industries, Micmic is a man that lives and breathes cars.

 

Micmic is the head honcho of Philippine Aluminum Wheels Inc. (Pawi), the country’s most famous aftermarket local wheel manufacturer. Under its ROTA brand, Pawi has supplied aftermarket lightweight aluminum wheels to legions of car enthusiasts not only locally but in the world over, being the pioneer wheel manufacturer in the country for over 30 years already.

 

I spent an afternoon at the Pawi facility being toured around by none other than Micmic himself as he showed me Pawi’s legacy (their current facility) and its future (new upcoming designs, supporting businesses).

 

Pawi was born on Oct. 8, 1976, a cooperation between Romy Rojas, Micmic’s dad and FPS Italy to produce alloy wheels for automotive purposes. The introduction of the company’s ROTA brand in 1977 yielded an immediate key client: Chrysler-Mitsubishi chose it as the OE wheel supplier in the Philippines, passing strict Japanese standards at that time.

 

The years that followed yielded more key clients: Ford, Daihatsu, Isuzu, Mercedes-Benz, Opel and Volkswagen vehicles sold in the country came shod with ROTA wheels from the factory. By 1983, ROTA became 100-percent Filipino-owned, and major technological changes were introduced to the company.

 

Boom during the revival

 

Micmic says that Pawi’s boom years came in the late ’80s to the mid-’90s when local car manufacturers, chief of  them Toyota, started to build cars  in the country again.

 

The vast majority of car brands had their wheels manufactured by Pawi, which helped spur the growth of the company. It was around this time that Micmic started to become more and more involved with company operations.

 

Unfortunately, the financial crisis in 1997 put a stop to Pawi’s OE wheel supplier business expansion. Since then, the company has redirected its efforts to supplying aftermarket performance-oriented wheels, exporting vigorously.

 

From a monthly 4,000 wheels in 1977, Pawi now produces roughly 60,000 pieces of aluminum alloy wheels, 15 times its original volume. Some 60 percent of Pawi’s aftermarket  products are exported abroad, particularly to the United States and United Kingdom where the introduction of the Subaru WRX and STI models in 2004 helped ROTA gain a strong foothold in the Americas.

 

Gaining a popular following

 

In Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, the massive popularity of drifting since 2008 helped ROTA, known for durable but affordable alloy wheels,  gain a popular following as a supplier of cost-effective yet highly stylish wheels.

 

This success story sounds like a fairytale, but there have been “haters,” referred collectively by  the industry to negative people. Many parties have accused Pawi of copying other manufacturers’ popular models.

 

To this, Micmic says that there’s a 30-percent rule in the industry: If your design is different enough by 30 percent, then it’s not a counterfeit/knockoff. You can achieve this by changing the spacing of the spokes on a five-, six- or seven-spoke-wheel design, by tapering the spokes towards the rim, by increasing the concavity of the spokes or by adding subtle differences to the rim.

 

It is an accepted standard by wheel manufacturers worldwide, after all. Other haters say that ROTA wheels are heavy. To put things in perspective, Micmic showed me an OEM European wheel from a popular high-performance sedan. He showed me a replacement wheel for the same car in a slightly wider size; the ROTA wheel was significantly lighter than the OE wheel. And yet the same wheel exceeds the Japan JWL (Japan Light Allow Wheel Standards) testing criteria for 13-, 30-, 60- and 90-degree impact tests, dynamic cornering and dynamic radial fatigue testing.

 

Micmic showed me their testing facility which houses the hydraulic press machines that, in an instant, slam thousands of kilograms of force on the wheels to simulate accidents or impacts. It makes one cringe upon seeing dozens of alloy wheels smashed, deformed or destroyed, but Micmic says that there’s never any waste; damaged wheels are melted and reused.

Next wave of designs

I couldn’t take any pictures at that time because ROTA was producing prototypes of the new wheel designs, which should be out in time for Christmas. As an early Christmas gift, I picked up a set of 18X10 and 18X11 ROTA MXRs. Micmic assured me that the MXRs and the next wave of designs from ROTA wheels will be very much their own, original Filipino designs, which is something Filipino enthusiasts should be looking forward too.

 

Aside from their ROTA brand, Pawi has also introduced sub-brands such as Linea Corse, focusing on big sizes for luxury European makes for BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and another European-influenced brand known as Rundfahren, aimed at lower-end European models such as Volkswagen, Opel/Vauxhaul, SEAT, Skoda and other mass-market European brands.

 

But it’s not all about numbers, money and work. Micmic and his dad Romy are certified car guys, with Micmic himself owning a large variety of highly desirable collectibles.

 

For Micmic,  the best way to really know about a car is to own one. He has an enviable collection of cars: various Civics, Subaru Imprezas, classic Toyota Corolla Levins and Truenos, Celicas and more.

 

He’s a perfect judge for a vintage Japanese car show, too; he knows by heart the correct trim pieces, headlight/taillight/bumper, exterior and interior combinations for different car models that have been introduced with subtle changes from the factory over the years.

 

And, of course, he’s a wheel fitment expert, with a keen eye for good wheel design, finding the best design/style, width and off-set for a wheel to suit a particular car. His company ROTA is very active in local motorsports, offering good discounts to racers, drifters and even car-show goers who want high-quality alloy wheels at affordable prices.

 

After touring  the  facility, I was very much impressed at what ROTA has accomplished. ROTA is helping bring in precious dollars to our economy, providing jobs to hundreds of employees and manufacturing stylish alloy wheels that we can all afford.

 

But it’s a dangerous place to bring your wallets or checkbooks, as Micmic and the guys and gals at Pawi will try their best that afterward you’ll leave with a new set of stylish wheels inside your car, or on it!