Acoustic product maker sets up shop in Mactan

A GLOBAL acoustic product manufacturer  broke ground at the Cebu Light Industrial Park (CLIP) on Friday for a 2-hectare facility that will create at least 4,000 jobs.

The facility of Knowles Electronics (Philippines) Inc. will manufacture microphones, speakers, and receivers for mobile devices.

Dan Giesecke, vice president for operations of Dover Corporation-Communication Technology (the mother company of Knowles Electronics), said they’re investing at least P630 million and would continue to invest more for future expansions within their 5.7 hectare lot in CLIP.

The facility should be operational by late September next year, said Giesecke.

Knowles Electronic (Phils) Corp. has 37 employees and should grow to 110 by yearend, according to Joseph Emmanuel Liwag, Knowles Electronics (Philippines) Corp. managing director, in a press conference held at the Shangri-la Mactan Island Resort and Spa last Friday.

“By end of 2013 we should have 1,500 people and over 4,000 people by end of 2014,” Liwag added.

Giesecke said they decided to open in Cebu because of many positive factors including the presence of a well-educated English-speaking talent pool, a business-friendly environment and a strategic location near sea ports and airports.

“We have looked at other areas in Thailand, Vietnam and even Manila but because of the advantages that we saw in Cebu, we decided to locate here,” said Giesecke.

Liwag said they’re confident that they could grow their business more through the additional capacity provided by the new facility.

“We are looking at the mobile handset and laptop market which is expanding globally. We will be producing products for this. We are confident that Cebu has the right talent pool that will help us achieve this goal,” said Liwag.

Giesecke said they would need technical and skilled production workers and people who would help in managing the operations.

Knowles Electronic (Phils) Corp. is the 17th locator in CLIP occupying a 5.7-hectare lot.

CLIP president Rommel M. Leuterio said they were expecting two more locators to build in the area soon.

One is a Canadian company engaged in waste-to-energy business and the other is a Japanese company for medical products.

“We are also negotiating with two more locators,” said Leuterio.

CLIP has eight hectares left for disposal, according to Leuterio, that only shows the big demand for manufacturing companies.

Leuterio said that he believed the recent P22 minimum increase approved by the Regional Tripartite Wage Board would not threaten the momentum./Reporter Aileen Garcia-Yap