THE local unit of Taiwan’s New Kinpo Group has started the construction of its 24,000-square meter (sq.m.) facility in Batangas, in line with the goal to double its workforce in the country by 2020.
Cal-Comp Technology (Philippines), Inc. said in a statement on Tuesday that the facility will expand its existing 140,000-sq.m. facility inside the Lima Technology Center in Lipa City, Batangas.
The new factory will generate about 3,000 new jobs for Filipinos.
“We are on track in making the Philippines our next main manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia, and we will grow our capacity down the line to reach more customers here and across the globe,” NKG and Cal-Comp Philippines Chief Executive Officer Simon Shen said in a statement.
The company is positioning the Philippines to become its main manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia instead of China, which is now moving toward higher level research and development (R&D) products.
Cal-Comp Philippines plans to hire 5,000 Filipinos in the next 12 to 18 months to support this goal, in addition to its current network of about 10,000 employees. It is also beefing up its R&D capacity increasing its local engineering division to almost 1,000, versus more than 140 engineers at present.
Aside from the new facility in Lipa, Cal-Comp Philippines will also be developing Phases 2 and 4 of its First Philippine Industrial Park, Inc. manufacturing complex in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. The construction will add around 48,000 sq.m. of manufacturing space for the company, where its unit Kinpo Electronics (Philippines), Inc. is located.
Cal-Comp Philippines decided to push through with its expansion despite postponing plans to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) this year, as it maintained a bullish outlook on the Philippines. The company sought to raise P6.77 billion from the sale of 378.07 million shares with an over-allotment option of up to 19.9 million shares priced at up to P17 each.
The IPO had been approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and was supposed to get the final go signal from the Philippine Stock Exchange.
Cal-Comp Philippines offers global electronic manufacturing services and original design manufacturing services to its customers. Its products and services include storage, printers, network-attached storage (NAS), wireless and broadband, digital home, consumer electronics, wearables, 3D printing, robotics, and emerging technologies, among others. — Arra B. Francia

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