SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — A Japanese company manufacturing reducer gears for robotic application is eyeing a P4-billion expansion at the Subic Techno Park (STEP) in this premier Freeport zone.
Nidec Subic Philippines Corporation’s expansion inside its site at the STEP will generate employment to some 3,400 skilled workers as the company intends to engage into producing a new product called Flexwave, a middle-sized speed reducer for robots.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Rolen C. Paulino disclosed that the company plans to increase the number of workers from its current 625 to 4,028 once the expansion project has been completed by 2025. This is to fulfill its production target of 350,000 per year, all of which will be exported to the USA, Europe, Japan, Korea, China, India, and Brazil.
“The number of skilled workers in the Freeport’s adjacent communities is certainly in high demand. The SBMA will help in any way it can to provide the company the manpower needed for its expansion operation,” he added.
The SBMA chief lauded Nidec Subic for showing their confidence with the SBMA and pursuing its goal to make it happen in the Philippines, even choosing the Subic Bay Freeport to implement the expansion project.
The said expansion will entail two phases. First phase will be the renovation of two of their buildings, which are expected to be completed by third quarter of 2022. Second phase will be the construction of a new building, which is expected to be completed by November or December of 2022.
During the height of the pandemic, the firm had to cut down on its employees due to the closure of their base production of spindle motors to ensure the financial stability of the company.
As a result, the company retrenched 70 percent of its workforce due to the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company was forced to give 784 workers their separation pay.
Meanwhile, Chairman Paulino assured Nidec Subic that the SBMA is keen on helping them find skilled workers for the imminent expansion, as the SBMA recently signed an agreement with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to establish a skills training and assessment center to train potential workers who will complement workforce requirements of industries in the Freeport.
