Nestlé earmarks 3 B yearly for expansion

TANAUAN, Batangas – Food and beverage giant Nestlé Philippines is expecting to spend an average capital expenditure (capex) of 3 billion every year to continuously expand its production capacity as well as improve its existing facilities.

This, as the company inaugurated on Thursday a 2.8- billion ready- to- drink ( RTD) plant within Nestlé’s manufacturing complex in Tanauan, Batangas. This, according to Nestlé Philippines Chairman Kais Marzouki, is the single largest business investment Nestlé made across some countries last year.

Speaking to reporters here, Marzouki said that following the new plant’s opening, the company may have a “similar rate of investment in the years to come.”

Nestlé’s capital expenditure over the last five years have already totaled to 14 billion, averaging 2.7 billion per year. The bulk of these investments were spent to upgrade the

company’s manufacturing plant in Cabuyao, Cagayan de Oro, Lipa, and Tanauan.

“At Nestlé Philippines, we prioritize local manufacturing over importation. When we manufacture in the country, we bring in technology, generate employment, pay taxes, contribute further development in the manufacturing sector,” Marzouki said.

During the inauguration, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said he hopes this is not the last major investment Nestlé will undertake in the Philippines.

“Hopefully they build another plant somewhere in a different location here in the country,” Lopez said in a separate interview. “We want them to expand.”

He said that as of now, there are still a lot of companies that rely on importation to support their business.

“DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] is focusing on local production and manufacturing. There are huge investments that go into it and it creates livelihood opportunities,” Lopez said.