Sanyo Denki opens P2.3-B phase 4 expansion project

Japanese firm Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc. has formally opened the P2.3-billion phase 4 of its expansion project at the Subic Techno Park (STEP) inside this premier Freeport last March 22. 

According to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño, the P2.3-billion Phase 4 expansion project includes the construction of a fourth factory building. 

He added that the expansion project will require an additional 1,500 workers to manufacture uninterrupted power supplies (UPS), cooling fans, servo amplifiers, and stepping motors. 

Aliño led the blessing and inauguration ceremony held inside the company’s grounds along with Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc. Chairman Chihiro Nakayama, Director Koichi Uchibori, and President and CEO Hirokazu Takeuchi.

Takeuchi expressed his gratitude to the SBMA for its support in the expansion plans of the Japanese company, citing that the Subic Bay Freeport is the second home of Sanyo Denki as the parent company Sanyo Denki Co. Ltd. is located in Tokyo, Japan.

Currently, Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc., which was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commision on January 25, 2000, and with the SBMA on March 9, 2000, has three factory buildings, and a technology center they opened in 2019. 

The company manufactures and repairs electric machineries, electric appliances, computer wares, electronic materials, and all parts and accessories, sells scrap materials, and has a workforce that grew to 4,851 employees as of December 2023.

The company became the top Subic locator in exports value in the first quarter of 2021, according to figures from the SBMA Trade Facilitation and Compliance Department with a freight-on-board (FOB) value of $79.5 million or almost 25 percent of the total exports from Subic posted from January to March 2021.

Sanyo Denki was among the very few Subic locators allowed to continuously operate during the Covid-19 pandemic that was under enhanced community quarantine conditions to build cooling fans for the ventilators used for Covid-19 patients. (MPD-SBMA)

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Japanese industrial park to double dividends for SBMA

Japanese developer partners at the Subic Techno Park (STEP) have agreed to double the dividend payments for the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), which will amount to almost US$1-million.

This was revealed by SBMA Chairman and Administrator Jonathan D. Tan. The consensus came about during a STEP board meeting held in Tokyo, Japan on November 17, 2023.  STEP is a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between the SBMA, Japan International Development Organization (JAIDO) and Toyo Construction Co. Ltd. (TOYO) that was executed in April 1996. The JVA was executed for the planning, development, construction, operation and maintenance of STEP’s 74-hectare industrial estate inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

As agreed in the JV, SBMA will maintain the 49.97% share equity and Japanese developers led by STEP President Ichiro Tsuji and his associates will have 50.03% equity.

Moreover, Tan cited that last year, the SBMA only received dividends of almost half million USD from STEP. This year, the official shared that the agency stands to receive dividends in the amount of $999,333.64.

Chairman Tan and SBMA Director Kenneth G. Rementilla led the SBMA delegation during the Tokyo board meeting recently. The two represented the agency and are nominees to the STEP.

President Tsuji disclosed that over the years, STEP has worked diligently to achieve its vision as evidenced by the presence of eight major Japanese locators and ten smaller companies, collectively occupying more than 70% of the leasable areas within the industrial estate.

“This, in turn, has led to the employment of approximately 10,000 local and foreign workers, who significantly contribute to the growth of the local economy,” he added.

Meanwhile, companies inside the STEP are now expanding their operations due to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (Create) law. One of the companies, Nidec Subic Philippines Corporation, is set to generate employment from its P4.2-billion expansion project in this Freeport.

Nidec Subic President Takeshi Yamamoto said that the company’s expansion project is already seen to generate close to 5,000 jobs until the last incentivized year as the Japanese manufacturing firm currently has a workforce of 622.

Japanese firm Sanyo Denki also held a groundbreaking for a 30-hectare complex for its US$10 million expansion of its computer parts manufacturing this year inside the STEP. Sanyo Denki is expected to hire additional 1,000 workers initially for the production of computer parts that are exported globally. (MPD/SBMA)

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Japanese steel firm invests P392.5-M for Subic factory

A Japanese steel company is set to invest P392.5 million in this premier free port to produce gear parts for industrial robots and specialty steel products for other companies here and abroad.

Taiyo Subic Philippines Corporation, a subsidiary of Japanese integrated special steel trading firm Taiyo Shoji Co., Ltd., was established here in February and has leased a 6,200-square meter facility at the Subic Techno Park (STP) here.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said Taiyo Subic has initially subleased a property with Nidec Subic Philippine Corp., another Japanese company at the STP, which manufactures spindle motors for hard disk drives.

“But Taiyo Subic has committed to construct its own factory here within this year at the cost of P142.5 million,” Eisma said during a media briefing here on Friday.

“This only goes to show the continuing confidence among Japanese investor-companies in Subic,” she added.

The new company has located in Subic to engage in the business of importation and exportation of special steel materials, and manufacturing of parts for use in the automobile industry, industrial machineries, plant machineries, and information technology.

It plans to set up a manufacturing facility that will manufacture and supply specialized gear parts for industrial robots both in the Philippines and abroad.

According to its business plan, Taiyo Subic will import materials from Taiyo Japan and Daido Steel Co., one of the world’s largest specialty steel manufacturers, refine these materials, and thereafter supply precision materials and gear parts to to other companies here and abroad.

Specifically, Taiyo Subic will supply speed reducers for Subic Nidec, using the special materials and parts that were developed by Taiyo Japan and Daido Steel.

The firm plans to supply Nidec Subic with 100,000 units of speed reducers per month by March 2020.

The entry of another Japanese manufacturer here heralds a resurgence of Japanese investments in the Subic Bay Freeport, noted Chairman Eisma.

Just this January, Nidec Shimpo, a sister company of Nidec Subic, launched in Subic an entirely new product line for super-silent speed reducers that has not been manufactured elsewhere in the world.

This was followed in March by the opening of a research and product development facility by Japanese technology firm Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc. also at the Subic Techno Park.

Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda, who graced the Nidec Shimpo inauguration, said the new projects show “the continuing Japanese investor confidence in the Philippines’ business potential.” (JRR/MPD-SBMA)

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Biggest supplier of Japanese heavy machinery partners with Subic dealer

One of the world’s biggest suppliers of used heavy machinery has partnered with a company inside this premier free port to provide necessary equipment for development projects in the countryside.

Japanese used machinery supplier AA Japan formally joined forces with Filanka Subic Corporation here on Friday, aiming to help address the country’s development requirements in the fields of infrastructure, agriculture, and energy by providing heavy-duty trucks and machinery.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Director Julius Escalona, who welcomed the two companies during the office inauguration, said the partnership will also provide local entrepreneurs with with much-needed heavy equipment units and related services.

AA Japan President and CEO Hameed Ramzan said the Japanese supplier teamed up with Filanka because they “believe in Filanka’s proven track record in this industry.”

He said the partnership “will allow us to adapt our services and products to a broad customer base and develop multiple service offerings.”

“We aim to boost our network here, which may, in turn, strengthen the industry in this part of the country, as well as provide livelihood opportunities to nearby communities,” Ramzan added.

With a $15-million investment, the partnership is gunning for an expansion and provision of full service in the country, officials said. This would mean hiring 200 employees skilled in conversion, painting, engine maintenance, and bodyworks, as well as leasing additional spaces for their stock and service yards.

“Every year, we deal with more than 10,000 customers throughout the world and our reputation of quality has never faltered. We strive, and we will always strive, to offer our customers quality vehicles at a low price, and to provide them with the best customer service,” Ramzan said.

He said that since 1996, AA Japan has provided quality vehicles, equipment, and machinery to contractors and procurers worldwide and has developed a global network of branches and exclusive partners that allow car sales throughout the world. (JRR/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:

SBMA Director Julius Escalona (left) joins AA Japan CEO Hameed Ramzan, AA Japan COO Kogawa Teruyuki, and former Sto. Tomas, Pampanga mayor Romy Ronquillo in cutting the ceremonial ribbon to launch the business partnership between AA Japan and Filanka Subic Corp.

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Japanese firm launches new line of robotic parts in Subic Freeport

Nidec-Shimpo Corporation (Japan), a leading innovator of precision-gearing solutions for robotics and industrial automation, formally launched its operations here on Wednesday, aiming to mass produce in its Subic factory a new line of robot components developed in Japan.

Nidec-Shimpo First Senior Vice President Hitoshi Inoue said the wholly-owned company of Japan’s Nidec Corp. and sister-company of Nidec Subic Philippine Corp. will initially build speed reducers for high-precision motion control applications at the rate of 10,000 to 25,000 units per month.

But the plant’s target production is expected to increase to 100,000 units per month at the end of this year, and to 120,000 units per month by March 2020, he added.

Inoue stressed that the gearless component parts to be produced in Subic are an entirely new product line that has not been manufactured elsewhere in the world. He described them as “super silent, and with zero backlash and smooth rotation.”

The Subic-made products will be exported to Spain, the United States and Germany, he added.

The launch of Nidec-Shimpo operations here was attended by Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda, Senator Richard Gordon, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma, and Assistant Secretary Rafaelita Aldaba of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Haneda said Nidec’s expansion “demonstrates the continuing Japanese investor confidence in the Philippines’ business potential (and) shows the rigorous effort of Nidec to take advantage of opportunities and take on challenges to break new ground.”

He also cited the company for its skills development activities that make its workers “industry-ready and technology-capable.”

Meanwhile, Gordon said Nidec’s new project “shows the trust and confidence of companies like Nidec in the capacity of the Filipino workers, and in our government’s consistency in our rules and regulations.”

“We should have more companies like Nidec in Subic,” he added.

On the other hand, SBMA Chairman Eisma noted that Nidec-Shimpo’s operation here “will further promote Subic’s stature in high-end manufacturing, improve the proficiency of local workers in technology, and, of course, bolster the local economy by increasing exports.”

Eisma also praised Nidec-Shimpo for sending local workers to Japan for training.

According to Inoue, the firm had sent a total of 100 Filipino workers to Japan as the first batch of trainees to learn the technology involved in producing precision motors and speed reducers. Of these, 70 had finished the course, and Nidec had again sent another 46 trainees for the second batch.

Inoue added that Nidec intends to hire more personnel at the Subic plant on top of the 100 workers it will employ in the first year of operation.

He pointed out that the Subic factory’s monthly product capacity of P120,000 units is greater than the combined capacity of Nidec’s plants in Kyoto, which was at 30,000 units in 2018, and in Ueda, which is expected to reach 50,000 units in 2019. (HEE/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1] Nidec-Shimpo Senior Vice President Hitoshi Inoue (left) explains how a high-precision speed reducer works to Sen. Richard Gordon and SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma during the opening of the Nidec-Shimpo manufacturing plant at the Subic Bay Freeport on Wednesday. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

[2] Sen. Richard Gordon, along with SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma and other guests, views precision products manufactured by Nidec-Shimpo during the opening of the company’s manufacturing plant at the Subic Bay Freeport on Wednesday. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

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Japanese firm to build robotic parts in Subic Freeport

A Japanese company known as the leading supplier of precision gearing solutions to the industrial automation marketplace is planning to set up operations here to manufacture key components for industrial robots.

Nidec-Shimpo Corporation (Japan), a wholly-owned company of Japan’s Nidec Corporation and sister-company of Nidec Subic Philippine Corporation, will build reduction gears which are considered vital in controlling the speed and traction of electronic equipment.

Nidec-Shimpo Corporate Planning Manager Tadahiro Togami, Corporate Planning Chief Manager Otoharu Tomita, and Vice President for Administration Tetsuya Nakao recently called on Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma Eisma to present their proposal.

They said that the proposed Subic operation will initially hire 100 workers, and eventually up to 1,000 workers.

Eisma said the proposed project will fortify the presence of Japanese companies here at the Subic Technology Park (STEP), which now hosts some of the leading innovators and manufacturers in the field of technology.

“Aside from proving the continuing investor confidence in this premier free port and economic zone, the entry of Nidec-Shimpo will further elevate Subic’s place in high-end manufacturing and increase the stature of local workers in the areas of precision engineering and technology,” she added.

The reduction gears that Nidec-Shimpo will produce in Subic will be intended for export to Europe, Eisma also noted.

The company, which has affiliated companies worldwide, is engaged in the manufacture and sales of variable speed drive and speed reducers, factory automation systems, ceramic equipment, electronic instruments, DC brushless motors, press machines and fee attachments, dies, and other machinery and tools.

Currently, Nidec-Shimpo has plants and marketing offices in the United States, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Korea, India, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

According to SBMA Business and Investment Department for Manufacturing and Maritime (BID-MM) head Karen Magno, Nidec-Shimpo’s sister firm in Subic is now the world’s top manufacturer of small precision motors.

She added that Nidec Subic Philippines currently holds the largest market share in the world for spindle motors, which rotate disks and are at the heart of hard disk drives used in personal computers. (RFD/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:

[1] Nidec-Shimpo officials present their proposal to manufacture reduction gears for industrial robots in the Subic Bay Freeport to SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

[2] Nidec Subic Phils Corp at the Techno-Park.

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Japanese firm sets $30-M to develop Subic Bay golf course

A Japanese company will be developing the Subic Bay golf course into a world-class venue for tournaments, coupled with a facility that will offer housing complexes and fulfilling lifestyle choices for retirees.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto Garcia said the Subic agency had awarded the golf course development project to a firm headed by Japanese businessman Masafumi Miyamoto, founder of the Smart Community Co., Ltd., the first and largest continuing-care retirement community in Japan.

The Subic Bay golf course clubhouse

“This project is a game-changer for Subic,” Garcia said, noting that it will transform Subic’s existing fairways that had been left rotting in the past few years into a major year-round tourist attraction.

He added that the visiting friends and relatives of those who would reside in the retirement village would likewise generate more economic activities in transportation, shopping malls, medical facilities, hotels, tourist attractions, banks, restaurants, and other businesses.

The project would cost a total of $30 million, excluding a fixed annual rental fee of $350,000 and a five-percent gross revenue share payable to the SBMA for the entire 50-year lease period.

Garcia said that in awarding the lease development contract to Miyamoto, the SBMA considered the overall concept of the project, the proponent’s financial capability, market availability, and business plan presented to agency officials in December last year.

“This s a two-pronged development project that considered the best potentials for what could be considered a major asset in the Subic Freeport,” Garcia said.

Accordingly, the first component, at the cost of $3 million, would involve the renovation and re-development of the whole golf course within two years, from June 2016 to June 2018. This will cover clubhouse renovation, installation of sprinkler systems and repair of ponds, improvement of the golf course, and upgrade of machinery and equipment, golf carts, and service vehicles.

Garcia said the project proponent had promised that the golf course would remain operational throughout the renovation period through a rotational renovation plan that would keep a minimum of nine holes open at a given time.

The second component is the $27-million development of all allowable open areas for the Subic Smart Community within a six-year period. This would consist of the construction and development of an initial 200 condominium units from 2016 to 2018. Next would be the completion of about 1,800 condominium units with various amenities like gym, sports center, arts and crafts studios, karaoke or music rooms, function rooms, library, and bars and restaurants, among others.

Garcia said that Miyamoto’s proposal was based on a market study that showed Japan’s aging society as becoming a financial burden to both the Japanese people and government. This situation had reportedly led to the emergence of elderly care businesses that had rapidly grown to a $252-billion industry just in 2015.

“Subic Bay has been chosen particularly because of its relatively constant weather patterns conducive for year-round golf play and because of its untapped areas that have great potential for a retirement complex,” Garcia noted.

Aside from starting the Smart Community in 2004, Miyamoto founded in 1986 the Square Enix Co., Ltd., which is engaged in publishing, distribution, and licensing of digital entertainment content worldwide, including the highly successful Tomb Raider Final Fantasy.

Miyamoto also founded the Sunpia Golf Club, in Japan’s Tokushima City, which has a total of 100 hectares, with three helipads, 300 parking slots, and driveways lined with cherry blossom trees. (NBM/MPD-SBMA)

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Subic Freeport land row far from over

A TRIAL court judge in Olongapo City is now in hot water after criminal and administrative complaints had been filed against him for stopping a construction project on a disputed 1-hectare property inside the Subic Freeport Zone.

Charged for violation of the Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Act before the Ombudsman is Judge Richard Paradeza of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Olongapo City.

An administrative complaint was also filed against Paradeza before the Supreme Court (SC) for allegedly “knowingly rendering an unjust decision” based on Article 204 of the Revised Penal Code.

The cases were filed by Marianito B. Fernandez of the Subic Coastal Development Corp. (SCDC), through his legal counsel, Bonifacio Alentajan.

Fernandez also sought the immediate inhibition of Paradeza from handling the land-dispute case.

The cases were filed after Paradeza issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the construction of a manufacturing facility on the 1-hectare property by Japanese Cresc Inc., based on a petition by a former Zambales governor Vicente Magsaysay.

In filing the motion for inhibition, Fernandez said Paradeza had lost the “cold neutrality” of a judge, since he could no longer achieve justice from the court.

Fernandez asked that civil case 119-0-2014 and the case should be re-raffled to another branch of the RTC in Olongapo City for disposition.

The Japanese company had also echoed SCDC’s position, saying the TRO should not have been issued at all as it lacked merit and Magsaysay had no legal personality to file the case.

“We invested in Subic Freeport in response to the Aquino administration’s efforts to attract foreign investments to the country. But we are now having second thoughts about our investments here as we now find ourselves in a legal dispute that has jeopardized our business expansion and impaired our capability to meet global demand for our ink products,” Cresc said.

“This is not only a legal and business dispute. It will also have an adverse impact on the Aquino administration’s drive to attract more foreign investments,” Cresc added.

The case started in 2002, when the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) leased 16.5 hectares to SCDC, a private firm.

Magsaysay offered to assist SCDC in clearing the leased property, where it built the Moonbay Marina Resort.

In 2008 SCDC was shocked when Magsaysay demanded that he be given control of 1 hectare of the 16.5-hectare property as “payment” for his unsolicited help in clearing the leased property.

Since it doubted the legality of Magsaysay’s demand, SCDC referred the case to SBMA.

A memorandum of agreement (MOA) was later signed by the SBMA, SCDC and Magsaysay’s Mobi, and Red Enterprises (MRE).

The 2008 MOA stipulated that SBMA would allow MRE to sublease the 1-hectare property if the Magsaysay-owned company would meet all of the SBMA’s terms and conditions within 30 days of the MOA signing.

The 2008 MOA also clearly provided that, at the event of the MRE’s failure to meet the MOA’s terms and conditions, and failure to secure a sublease from SBMA, the 1-hectare property would remain as a leasehold of SCDC.

As confirmed by SBMA Deputy Administrator for Legal Affairs Randy Escolango, the 2008 MOA did not take effect because MRE failed to meet the MOA’s terms and it failed to secure a sublease from the SBMA for the property.

Not only did SBMA not issue MRE a sublease, SBMA also affirmed that legal control of the subject property never left SCDC, as SBMA continued collecting from SCDC all pertinent fees on it, such as base rent, sublease share and monthly billings.

Likewise, SBMA confirmed SCDC’s right over the disputed property and approved the survey plan, covering the one-hectare subleased by SCDC to Cresc in 2013.

The sublease between SCDC and Cresc was also deemed approved by SBMA when the latter approved Cresc’s development plans on the area, which allowed the Japanese company to undertake business expansion. (Joel R. San Juan, BusinessMirror)

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/subic-freeport-land-row-far-from-over/

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Japanese firm to produce 'personal submarines' in Subic

First gaining attention as a manufacturer of world-class limousines, Japan-based firm Amuza Co. Ltd. is now set to produce in Subic what it called "leisure submarines", in partnership with a business locator here that specializes in fiberglass and composite materials construction.

This was announced on Thursday by Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator Armand Arreza, after Amuza conducted a successful sea trial of its private submarine prototype here last week.

Amuza, which has been working on the submarine project for 10 years, has partnered with former Subic locator Taiyo Sangyo Trading and Marine Service Ltd., which in turn referred them to McGram Fusion Inc. in Subic, said Arreza.

McGram Fusion, which manufactures car body kits made of fiberglass, carbon fiber and Kevlar, has agreed to fabricate the vessel's hull and other visible components, while electronic parts and systems will be shipped in from Japan.

The two-seater leisure submarine weighs four tons and is about the size of a typical car — two meters wide, four and a half meters long, and two meters high.

Underwater, it sucks in water which adds to its weight, for a total of 4.8 tons.

Powered with a lithium-ion battery, which Amuza currently develops, the leisure sub on a full charge of 10 hours can navigate for up to 50 nautical miles (about 90 kms) and dive up to 150 meters deep.

Underwater, the vessel's speed tops 5 knots per hour.

Amuza chief executive officer Kiyotaka Miyagawa said the firm has so far spent about $1.7 million for the prototype tested here last week.

He added that Amuza wants to produce 10 units of the submarine by the end of the year.

"Basically, this is a toy for rich people," Arreza said. "So production would be low, slow, cautious, and of the highest quality."

Amuza mechanical technologist Keisuke Imada said the unique submarine can be maneuvered to perform stunts like an aircraft.

"This is the most acrobatic submarine in the world," Imada said with pride. "The idea was to make it more mobile, as opposed to the traditional sub which can only go up and down."

Imada said buyers of their craft must first secure a license from a pilot training station they are planning to set up in Subic Bay.

Imada, who served time in Japan's navy, said he is very familiar with the Subic Bay Freeport, so he insisted that it be the venue for sea trials and the training school.

Initially, the firm plans to invest US$5 million for the training school, which will employ 50 to 100 divers, mechanics, and helpers, he said.

"Subic Bay's proximity to Japan, its preferable environmental factors, coupled with a workforce possessing excellent maritime capabilities, make it an ideal site for this venture," said Imada. (SBMA Corporate Communications)

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