By CARRIE T. ASPA  |

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Six months after broaching the idea to SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma, Japanese precision-gear manufacturer Nidec-Shimpo Corporation formally launched its operations here on Jan. 23 to mass-produce a new line of robot components developed in Japan.

Nidec-Shimpo First Senior Vice President Hitoshi Inoue said the wholly-owned company of Japan’s Nidec Corp. and sister-company of Nidec Subic Philippine Corp. will initially build speed reducers for high-precision motion control applications at the rate of 10,000 to 25,000 units per month.

But the plant’s target production is expected to increase to 100,000 units per month at the end of this year, and to 120,000 units per month by March 2020, he added.

Inoue stressed that the gearless component parts to be produced in Subic are an entirely new product line that has not been manufactured elsewhere in the world. He described them as “super silent, and with zero backlash and smooth rotation.”

The Subic-made products will be exported to Spain, the United States and Germany, he added.

The launch of Nidec-Shimpo operations here was attended by Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda, Senator Richard Gordon, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma, and Assistant Secretary Rafaelita Aldaba of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Gordon said Nidec’s new project “shows the trust and confidence of companies like Nidec in the capacity of the Filipino workers, and in our government’s consistency in our rules and regulations.”

“We should have more companies like Nidec in Subic,” he added.

On the other hand, SBMA Chairman Eisma noted that Nidec-Shimpo’s operation here “will further promote Subic’s stature in high-end manufacturing, improve the proficiency of local workers in technology, and, of course, bolster the local economy by increasing exports.”

Eisma also praised Nidec-Shimpo for sending local workers to Japan for training.

According to Inoue, the firm had sent a total of 100 Filipino workers to Japan as the first batch of trainees to learn the technology involved in producing precision motors and speed reducers. Of these, 70 had finished the course, and Nidec had again sent another 46 trainees for the second batch.

Inoue added that Nidec intends to hire more personnel at the Subic plant on top of the 100 workers it will employ in the first year of operation.

He pointed out that the Subic factory’s monthly product capacity of P120,000 units is greater than the combined capacity of Nidec’s plants in Kyoto, which was at 30,000 units in 2018, and in Ueda, which is expected to reach 50,000 units in 2019.

Continuing Japanese investor confidence 

Meanwhile, Japan Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda said that Japanese investor confidence in Philippine business remains strong, as demonstrated by the Nidec expansion project here.

Speaking during the formal opening of Nidec-Shimpo’s manufacturing plant at the Subic Techno Park, Japan’s representative to the country also cited bilateral efforts to attract more Japanese investments into the country.

“It has been a delight to see Japanese companies in the Philippines forging ahead in their respective fields. Nidec’s expansion demonstrates the continuing Japanese investor confidence in the Philippines’ business potential,” Haneda said.

“Together with the (Department of Trade and Industry) and the (Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority), we are finding every opportunity to complement the initiatives of the Philippine government to attract more Japanese investments,” he added.

Haneda also observed that the “huge role of DTI and SBMA in creating an enabling environment for business comes into play as local and foreign companies alike—such as Nidec—stay competitive, create jobs, and drive economic growth.”

Haneda’s pronouncements came after a report from the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) indicated that more Japanese firms in the country might suspend expansion plans due to issues on tax incentives and labor policies.

The report said that the number of Japanese firms that will expand business this year declined to 52 percent from 63 percent last year, and that those who would efrain from expanding rose to 46 percent from 35 percent.

In his Subic message, however, Haneda expressed hope “that more and more Japanese companies will further fortify their presence in the Philippines, similar with what Nidec has now tremendously achieved.” – With Henry Empeño