Nestle to open new plant in Tanauan
Posted on July 2nd, 2010
Nestlé Philippines Inc., the Philippine unit of Swiss food and beverage giant Nestlé, is not going to pull out of the country and relocate in Indonesia as earlier reported. In fact, John Miller, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Nestlé Philippines, said they are investing in a new facility south of Manila.
Miller said, the company leased a 27-hectare tract of land in Tanauan City, and have earmarked P4.3 billion for the initial phase of a new plant which was projected to produce an annual 64,000 metric tons of Coffee-Mate and Bear Brand, to serve the growing domestic demand for its products. The construction of the new facility will start this month and it is expected to be in operation by March 2012.
According to Miller, their existing Cagayan de Oro plant which manufactures Bear is already operating in its full capacity with an output of about 80,000 metric tons. He also noted the strong demand for Coffee-Mate in the country, which necessitated their opening of their own manufacturing plant for the coffee creamer. “We want to become self-sufficient in Coffee-Mate supply,” Miller said. At present, the company imports up to 27,000 metric tons of Coffee-Mate a year from its Thailand affiliate.
For the new plant, Miller said they will hire 170 people initially to run the facility. Once the new plant’s operation has gone full blast, they will fill up the complete manpower requirement which is about 500 people.
Aside from Coffee-Mate and Bear Brand, Miller said they also plan to manufacture additional brands in the upcoming Tanauan facility. He said the new factory will be developed in three phases, adding that production “volumes could go up to over 100,000 metric tons.”
Aside from the new Tanauan facility, the company also plans to upgrade its Cabuyao plant, where it has set aside P150 million for the said improvement, as well as P500 million for the manufacturing capacity improvement project in its Cagayan de Oro plant.
Miller dispels the rumors that they would relocate the Philippine unit to Indonesia, adding that the news was “categorically incorrect.” He said, “We have no plans to relocate our lines to Indonesia.”
