SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – Japanese firm Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc. formally launched Phase 4 of its expansion project at the Subic Techno Park (STEP) in this premier free port on March 22. 

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño said the P2.3-billion project includes the construction of a fourth factory building to to manufacture uninterrupted power supplies (UPS), cooling fans, servo amplifiers, and stepping motors. 

The expansion project will require an additional 1,500 workers. 

Aliño led the blessing and inauguration ceremony held at the company grounds along with Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc. Chairman Chihiro Nakayama, Director Koichi Uchibori, and President and CEO Hirokazu Takeuchi.

Takeuchi expressed his gratitude to the SBMA for its support in the expansion plans of the Japanese company. Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc., has three factory buildings and a technology center that opened in 2019. 

The company manufactures and repairs electric machineries, electric appliances, computer wares, electronic materials, and all parts and accessories, sells scrap materials, and has a workforce of 4,851 employees as of December 2023.

The company became the top Subic locator in terms of export value in the first quarter of 2021, according to figures from the SBMA Trade Facilitation and Compliance Department. It had a freight-on-board (FOB) value of $79.5 million or almost 25 percent of the total exports from Subic posted from January to March 2021. Sanyo Denki was among the very few Subic locators allowed to continuously operate during the Covid-19 pandemic, as it manufactured cooling fans for ventilators used for Covid-19 patients. 