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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₱4-B Nidec Subic Investment to generate close to 5,000 jobs in the Freeport

Nidec Subic Philippines Corporation will soon be opening approximately 5,000 jobs from its expansion here in Subic Bay Freeport.

This was disclosed by Nidec President Takeshi Yamamoto in a simple awarding ceremony of the Certificate of Registration (COR) with Incentives under the CREATE law to Japanese company Nidec Subic Philippines Corporation for its ₱4.2-billion expansion project.

While Nidec Subic currently has a workforce of 622 employees, the company’s expansion project is expected to generate close to 5,000 job opportunities until the last incentivized year.

Yamamoto proudly shared that the company chose Subic Bay Freeport for its expansion due to its strategic location, making it possible for them to market their product to the European Union, United States, Brazil, Korea and China.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Jonathan D. Tan led the simple ceremony, together with Senior Deputy Administrator for Business and Investment (SDA) Renato Lee III and Business and Investment Department (BID) for Manufacturing and Maritime manager Karen Magno, in awarding the COR to Nidec Subic President Yamamoto and General Manager Marissa Tamayo.

Tan explained that Kinematix is a new product that is a high accuracy gearbox used as base, arm or shoulder for industrial robots for auto tool changer/ loader of machines. He added that the aim of the expansion of Nidec Subic Philippines is to produce these gearboxes outside of Japan.

“This is certainly a milestone for Subic Freeport as this new product will be solely manufactured by Nidec Subic,” the official cited, adding that these gearboxes will be “Gawang Pinoy.”

He further stated that this is the first expansion of the company outside of Japan which was made possible due to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE) law, revealing that the tax incentives have made it easier for them to expand in the Philippines.

Lee explained that the CREATE law has enabled the granting of the company tax incentives namely: a six-year income tax holiday; ten-year special corporate income tax; 16-year Customs Duty Exemption on Importation of Capital Equipment, Raw Materials, Spare Parts and Accessories; 16-year value-added tax (VAT) zero-rating on local purchase; and a 16-year VAT exemption on importation.

Meanwhile, Tamayo also averred that the company decided to expand its operations in the Philippines because of its highly-skilled and resilient Filipino labor force, plus the fact that the Philippines is an English-speaking country.

Nidec Subic is a Japanese manufacturing company that was established inside Subic Freeport on July 14, 1998. It is located at the Subic Technopark, Argonaut Highway, Boton Area, occupying a total of 96,472 square meters of land area.

The expansion project dubbed as Project Kinematix aims to manufacture and assemble medium to large size gearboxes for industrial robotics gears. Valued at ₱5.065 billion, Nidec will be directly exporting 100% of its annual production of 288,000 gearboxes overseas. (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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Subic shoe factory to hire 1,500 more workers

Datian Subic Shoes, Inc., the manufacturer of popular shoe brands like Vans and Keds, has committed some USD6 million to expand its operations in this Freeport.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman and administrator Wilma T. Eisma welcomed the development, noting that the company plans to hire an additional 1,500 employees.

“Although we have experienced a downturn in employment last year because of the layoffs at Hanjin shipyard, we believe that Subic can easily make a rebound because a lot of companies like Datian Subic have been expanding and hiring more skilled workers,” she said.

Eisma said that the company has leased a 29,400-square meter property to extend its existing 42,749-square meter facility at the Subic Bay Gateway Park (SBGP) Phase II.

“The company plans to use half of the USD6-milllion expansion investment to build another factory building in two years,” she said.

Datian Subic initially invested USD10 million in 2017 for its first manufacturing facility at the Gateway Park.

As of February, this year, the company already employs 3,698 workers.

Datian Subic Shoes, Inc. produces shoes under global brands like Keds, Converse, Sperry, and Vans for the American market, as well as Hugo Boss and Dr. Martens for the European market.

Its Subic factory integrates assembly lines for stitching, rubber compounding, outsoles molding, insoles and arches sponging, rubber gluing, as well as foxing operations.

Company officials said the existing factory produces an average of 350,000 pairs of shoes per month.

Eisma also said the SBMA expects more expansion projects among Subic business locators, following the current shift in production from China to other countries in Southeast Asia because of the ongoing trade war between China and the United States.

“The current tax incentives being offered by the SBMA to foreign manufacturing companies is another factor for this expansion surge,” she said.

Eisma pointed out that the expansion projects last year amounted to a whopping PHP25 billion in committed investments from existing business locators. (Malou Dungog, PNA)

PHOTO:

The manufacturing facility of Datian Subic Shoes, Inc., located at the Subic Gateway Park.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1065111

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Japanese tech firm opens Subic R&D center

JAPANESE technology firm Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc. has opened a research and product development center in Subic Bay Freeport.

The firm, which produces cooling, power and servo systems at its factories in the Subic Techno Park here inaugurated the Sanyo Denki Technology Center (SDP-TC) last week, an expansion project for the company that was established here in 2000.

Wilma Eisma, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman and administrator, graced the inauguration, remarked that Sanyo Denki’s new project that “will bring the future to Subic.”

“The technology transfer would again put the Filipino workers on top of their game, so aside from the fact that Sanyo Denki would be hiring more locals, Subic would also benefit a lot from this undertaking,” she added.

Sanyo Denki Philippines (SDP) chief executive officer and president Koichi Uchibori said SDP-TC will serve as the hub of product development for the Sanyo Denki Group of Companies here in the Philippines.

“From now on, Sanyo Denki Philippines, will be developing high performance and high quality products- the much needed parts of the costumers around the world,” he continued.

SDP senior executive operating officer Kauro Tamura said the SDP-TC will consolidate the technology development base for its three design departments.

Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc. is the production site for cooling, power, and servo systems of Sanyo Denki Co. Ltd., a global technology company that started out in Tokyo in 1932 with a factory for the production of small AC/DC generators and power units for communications equipment.

Its Subic operations include highly efficient automated production lines such as the surface mount technology (SMT), and a department for developing and designing cooling fans.

SDP design division supervisor Michiro Watanabe explained that Sanyo Denki’s efforts to enhance its operations in Subic has resulted in the establishment of the SDP-TC, which is the third building it has put up since 2000.

He said that the new facility will now house the consolidated design department for fan design, servo design, and power design.

“This comfortable work space will allow us to go on with the business, with the combined efforts of the Japanese management and the Filipino staff, to deliver world-class products with higher performance and higher quality,” Watanabe also said. (Ric Sapnu, Sun Star)

PHOTO:

SBMA Chairman & Administrator Wilma T. Eisma (center) and company officials opened the new technology center of Sanyo Denki in Subic Bay Freeport Zone. (photo from SBMA Chair & Administrator Facebook page)

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1796920

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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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Honeywell eyes additional investment for its Subic Bay operations

Honeywell Aerospace, the world's largest manufacturer of aircraft engines and avionics, may increase investments across Asia Pacific, including the Philippines, as it anticipates higher air traffic in the region following the ratification of the ASEAN Open Skies agreement.

Honeywell Aerospace Asia Pacific president Steven Lien said in an email, the company expects growth in both regional and domestic air traffic with the ratification of the ASEAN Open Skies policy by all 10 member states.

“As the aviation industry continues to grow in Asia Pacific and in the Philippines, Honeywell is committed to supporting the needs of the industry and is confident that this will translate into increased investments across our Asia Pacific facilities, including Subic Bay,” Lien said.

Honeywell’s Philippine facility in Subic Bay provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for commercial aviation wheels and brakes. Its facility at the Subic Technopark opened in 2003 as Honeywell Ceasa (Subic bay) Company Incorporated.

Lien said the Philippines has played an important role in Honeywell’s operations as the Subic Bay facility has enabled the company to strengthen network support.

In particular, the Honeywell Subic Bay facility has been working closely with local distributors and dealers to offer products and services to airlines operating in the Philippines and around the Asia Pacific region.

The ASEAN Open Skies agreement allows designated carriers of ASEAN countries to operate unlimited flights between capitals.

With growth in both regional and domestic air traffic expected, Honeywell is prepared to pour in funds to address the demand of the aviation industry.

Honeywell is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing company providing aerospace products and services, control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; turbochargers; and performance materials.

The company’s aerospace unit develops innovative solutions intended to make more fuel efficient airplanes, more direct and on-time flights, as well as safer flying and runway traffic.

It is likewise engaged in providing advanced aircraft engines, cockpit and cabin electronics, wireless connectivity services and logistics. (The Philippine Star)

PHOTO:
Honeywell Ceasa (Subic Bay) Co., Inc. was recently conferred the Mabuhay Business Award by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) as among 15 business locators in Subic Bay that have strengthened the local economy and contributed significantly to the growth of the country’s gross domestic product. Honeywell Subic is a P435-million firm providing repair and overhaul of aircraft wheels, brakes and other aircraft equipment.

http://www.philstar.com/business/2016/05/19/1584543/honeywell-eyes-more-investments-asia

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Is Subic prepared for port congestion?

While government think tanks take a long, hard look at Subic Bay as, perhaps, the solution to the worsening congestion at Manila ports, the question now looms: “Is Subic Freeport ready to take on the challenge?”

Valenzuela City Representative Sherwin Gatchalian has filed a resolution for the house panel to conduct an inquiry into the viability of Subic Freeport in sharing the load of processing containers in order to decongest port operations in Manila.

If Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Robert Garcia were to answer the question, he would have no hesitation in saying that Subic is ready to take the challenge.

“Subic Freeport’s New Container Terminals (NCTs) are more than capable of handling its fair share of container vans,” said Garcia.

He said that the NCTs can handle 300,000 container vans each and that the current volume of Twenty-footer Equivalent Units (TEUs) is only six percent of what Subic Freeport can handle.

Rest assured, he said, that it is business as usual for cargo handling in Subic as the agency is segregating the Subic shipment from the TEUs being transferred from Manila.

“Operations in Subic Freeport would still be the same as their work won’t be hampered by the proposed transfer of cargoes in Manila. Subic locators would still have their own space for their shipments,” Garcia said.

Aside from cargo handling operations, Garcia is also eyeing a road that will connect the NCTs to the Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) that will not affect Subic Freeport road users. The proposed road would cost P2 billion and would cut through a path behind the Subic Techno Park to avoid taking the usual roads in Subic, shortening the travel time for cargo handlers.

But the proposed road would still have to wait since the agency does not have enough funds to finance the construction. Garcia hopes that the national government would fund the proposed road. (Jonas Reyes, Manila Bulletin)

http://www.mb.com.ph/is-subic-prepared-for-port-congestion/

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Subic Freeport business locators march for breast cancer awareness

Business locators in this free port lent a hand in raising breast cancer awareness by holding the Second Breast Cancer Awareness Fun Walk recently at the Subic Techno Park.

The event, now on its second year, is organized by the the Philippine College of Occupational Medicine (PCOM) in cooperation with the Subic-Olongapo Cancer Foundation, Inc. (SOCFI). The stakeholders also joined a slogan-making contest as part of the activity.

During the event program, Daisy Lorenzana, a breast cancer survivor, shared her experience in her battle with breast cancer.

“The key to my survival was early detection and a healthy lifestyle,” Lorenzana told employees who joined the march. “We have to share to other people what we have learned in order to save lives.”

According to Charo Simmons, vice president of SOCFI, the event was held to honor breast cancer survivors, as well as those who lost the fight to the illness.

She said that SOCFI aims to educate people that the threat of cancer is real and should not be taken for granted.

Simmons recalled that SOCFI was founded 10 years ago by two doctors dealing with cancer: Dr. Jaime Roco, an oncologist, and Dr. Resty Acosta, himself a cancer survivor.

According to the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology, breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women in the Philippines.

The country is said to have the highest incidence of breast cancer in the Asian continent. An estimated three out of 100 Filipino women contract the disease before age 75, and one out of 100 die before age 75, studies indicate.

The campaign on breast cancer awareness in the Subic Bay Freeport is actively supported by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. (FMD/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:
Workers from various business locators at the Subic Bay Freeport march for a good cause during the 2nd Breast Cancer Awareness Fun Walk at the Subic Techno Park recently.

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Another Subic firm undertakes expansion amid crisis

Another manufacturer in the electronics industry here is now undertaking facilities expansion to boost its competitive edge in face of the economic slowdown that affects economies worldwide.

Koryo Subic, Inc., which has been producing high precision plastic molding for electronics products here since 1996, recently sought the approval of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to construct a new building adjacent to its factory at the Boton logistics area.

The expansion project, which will include building construction and acquisition of new machines, will cost P180 million, said SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza.

According to Shin-Ichi Suzuki, factory manager of Koryo Subic, the new building would be used as a “clean room facility” for the painting of molded plastic products.

“As the global recession still continues, this new facility will be part of our strategy to attract more clients and additional jobs from our current customers,” Suzuki said.

“This new painting facility will be a controlled environment and the features will be somewhat more advanced than our current painting process,” he added.

Suzuki said that their company has set the completion date of the new building before the audit to be made next month by Sony Corp., one of their biggest clients, which shall be evaluating their suppliers to determine who gets the contract for the production of components for the upcoming 2010 model of its digital camera series.

“This is the main reason why we can’t afford to delay the construction of the new building,” Suzuki said.

Initially, Koryo will not be requiring additional manpower once the new building becomes operational, as the current recession has left the firm with “a lot of excess manpower,” Suzuki said.

But when the expansion project starts to bring in more clients, the firm will eventually increase its manpower, Suzuki said.

The expansion project by Koryo is so far the second to be announced this year by a Subic Freeport firm involved in the electronics industry, one of the sectors hardest hit by recession, said Administrator Arreza.

Last week, Japanese firm Hitachi Terminals Mechatronics Philippines Corp. (HTMP), a leading manufacturer of automated teller machines and terminal card reading machines, inaugurated its new warehouse here despite the ongoing global economic slowdown, said Arreza.

The firm, which is located at the Subic Techno Park, constructed a new 3,564-square meter warehouse that will be used in receiving of goods, stocking, warehouse controlling, keeping and materials handling, picking or withdrawal of parts, delivery of picked parts to production, as well as for shipping.

Like Koryo’s planned “clean room”, Hitachi’s new warehouse was designed as part of the firm’s business strategy to control cost and improve its efficiency to be able to compete strongly, said HTMP president Kiyotaka Adachi.

Arreza, meanwhile, has described HTMP’s establishment of a new warehouse facility as “a sign of the company’s business foresight and continued competitiveness.” (SBMA Corporate Communications)

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Fighting poverty ensures peace - Pres. Arroyo. Petron fuel plant inaugurated in Subic

SUBIC BAY FREE PORT—President Arroyo has underscored the importance of the government’s poverty-alleviation program, saying that strengthening the economy and bringing about human dignity to every Filipino brings about peace.

In a speech before the Central Luzon Local Peace and Security Assembly at the El Centro Convention Center here, President Arroyo also said the government has been making headway in curbing insurgency, which she said is rooted in lack of jobs,
land-reform problems and social injustice.

“A strong and growing economy has been the central pillar we have labored to create precisely to help ensure peace, order and instability in our country. And it’s paying off,” Arroyo told some 500 participants in the two-day assembly and workshop.

Before addressing the Central Luzon peace assembly Thursday, President Arroyo also inaugurated a $2.5-million fuel-additives blending plant put up by Petron Corp. at the Subic Techno Park.

Petron chairman and CEO Nicasio Alcantara informed the President at the inauguration that the facility will not only generate dollar revenues, but will also promote energy conservation and assist in environmental protection.The additives-blending plant, the first of its kind in Asia-Pacific, will export 80 percent of its products, mainly to Asian markets.

In addressing the peace assembly later, Mrs. Arroyo said, “Our economy is more resilient today than ever before, thanks to our fiscal reforms that manifested in a 7-percent-plus [gross domestic product] growth last year.” Almost 7 million jobs have also been created in the past seven years of her administration, she added.

However, she admitted that the current global financial crisis still hits Filipinos where it hurts most—at the kitchen table.“We are not insulated from the events taking place internationally, so we will have to monitor developments closely and take action where necessary, to ensure that any impact will be minimal or short-lived,” she added.

At the same time, President Arroyo criticized communist insurgents for impeding progress and development in some rural areas, and said the government is taking on a new tack to end “all forms of armed rebellion in the country.”

She said the new premise of the government’s peace efforts now focuses on “authentic dialogues with the people in communities,” and not on negotiating with armed groups.

“By talking directly with the people, we aim to generate a national consensus against armed struggle as a means of achieving political and social change,” the President explained.

She added that the overall framework of the government’s peace process will be composed of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR).“DDR, as espoused by the communities, will be a notice to armed groups of their rejection of armed struggle, and a way of showing that the force of arms does not entitle them to representing our people,” she added.

For its part, the assembly presented President Arroyo with a resolution and action agenda for peace, security and development, which was the result of the two-day workshop, spearheaded by National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales.

The resolution supported the “wisdom and spirit of the New Peace Paradigm [of] multitrack dialogue, peace education and development cooperation,” and expressed the participants’ determination to make Central Luzon an agro-industrial heartland, international gateway, tourism haven, and transshipment and logistics hub.

The resolution was signed by representatives of six workshop groups that included participants from local and national government units, nongovernment and people’s organizations, academe, business, religious and basic sectors. (Henry Empeño - Business Mirror)

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Subic ATM-parts maker expands operation

While most exporters face growing difficulties due to the global effects of the financial crisis in the United States, a Japanese electronics manufacturer here is expanding its operations to cope with growing market demand.

Hitachi Terminals Mechatronics (Phils.), Corp. (HTMP), maker of automated teller machine parts and card readers and the third biggest exporter here last year, broke ground last week for a new warehousing facility at the Subic Techno Park (STEP), where most of the Japanese firms in Subic are located.

HTMP president Kiyotaka Adachi said that the new facility will allow the $12-million firm to compete in the global market despite the financial woes besetting economies worldwide.

"The building of the new warehouse is part of our business strategy to control cost and to improve our efficiency," Adachi said.

"It is a sign that HTMP is willing to compete strongly in the world market," he added during the groundbreaking ceremony last week.

The event was witnessed by Senior Deputy Administrator Ramon Agregado of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA); Kazuya Hori, vice president of Hitachi Omron Terminal Solution, HTMP's mother company; Takashi Jinguji, managing director of Asia Hitachi Transport, and other Japanese business executives based at the (STEP).

The new warehouse, which will have a total floor area of 3, 564 square meters, will be used for receiving goods, stocking, controlling, and handling of materials for production. It will also be used for "picking" or the withdrawal of parts to be delivered either for production or for shipping.

"HTMP is competing hard to gain lead commission in quality cost worldwide.. Last year marked the highest sales for HTMP, but it took us a lot of effort and hard work," Adachi noted.

Meanwhile, SBMA's Agregado lauded the company's continued support to the SBMA's efforts to make the Subic Bay Freeport Zone a success.

"Let me note the progressive management and untiring workers of the HTMP who never stop improving their performance that led them to the top," he said in his message during the groundbreaking rites.

Agregado noted that HTMP was ranked third among the top exporters in Subic last year, with its total freight on board (FOB) export value of US$54.21 million.

The firm was also ranked eighth among the top importers, with a total of FOB import value of more than $24 million, and was the eighth biggest employer in the free port with a total of 703 employees.

He also praised the effort of HTMP to become one of the first companies in Subic to "go 'green' and become more environment-friendly."

Recently, HTMP joined the Green Philippines program launched by the European Union to promote the integration of sustainable development principles with fast paced industrialization, by using the so-called "Ecoprofit" approach.

The HTMP said that by applying Ecoprofit principles, which involved innovative, integrated and environment-friendly technologies, it was able to save millions of pesos in power and water consumption.
..
Among the simple practices that HTMP adopted were the use of auto shut-off water faucets and low-wattage fluorescent bulbs, mandatory turning-off of lights and air-conditioning system during break time, and the promotion of a paperless, pencil-less office through the use of intranet computer networks. (SBMA Corporate Communications)

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