SEMICONDUCTORS supplier giant ON Semiconductor, spurred by the country’s economic performance, has assured continued investments in the Philippines and underscored the country as a key site for investment.
“This [rate of investments] is expected to continue given that the Philippines is really the priority site. The Philippines is a priority destination for manufacturing, considering its performance,” Sunil Banwari, president and general manager of the Philippine unit of ON Semiconductor, told the BusinessMirror on Tuesday evening at the 66th Republic Day of India celebration of the Indian embassy in the Philippines.
“Of all our Asian locations, we are aggressively expanding the most in the Philippines,” Banwari said.
As previously reported, the firm has already allotted $40 million (about P1.8 billion) for the expansion of local operations in 2014 to be spent until 2016.
So far, Banwari said $15 million to $20 million was spent last year. The remaining amount will be allocated until 2016.
A sizable part of the P1.8-billion capital expenditure will be going into ramping up production in its manufacturing facility in Tarlac, said Banwari, which they’ve come to own through ON Semiconductor’s acquisition of Sanyo Semiconductor back in 2011.
The firm also owns two other manufacturing facilities in Carmona, Cavite. Banwari said that, currently, there is enough space for expansion in Tarlac, but after two to three years, another substantial investment may take place.
“After two to three years, there’s a possibility we will push for a bigger investment in the Philippines. In two to three years, we will have used up all the [manufacturing] space in Tarlac and, at that point, we need to make another investment,” Banwari said. He said investment may match or even exceed the $40 million allotted last year.
The manufacturing floor space used up by ON Semiconductor’s three factories amount to around 500,000 square feet, and the company owns a total land area of 51 acres, leaving plenty of room for construction of new facilities.
ON Semiconductors firm’s global revenues are already at $3.6 billion and the Philippine unit of the firm makes products across five major electronics segments: automotive, wireless communication, computer parts, consumer appliance parts, and industrial, military, medical and aerospace.
The Tarlac facility will strengthen the firm’s production of cellular and communication components, as the company has mostly focused on automotive components in its Philippine factories.
ON Semiconductors Philippines currently employs 4,400 workers, a figure that will likely increase due to the expansion of operations.
The semiconductor supplier has manufacturing facilities in other Asian nations, particularly in Vietnam, Malaysia, China and Japan.