Japan’s Nidec plans P40-billion expansion of Subic facility — DTI

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Japan’s Nidec Corp., a maker of electric motors, is planning a P40-billion expansion of its manufacturing site in Subic.

Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in a statement on Thursday that the expansion targets a 50,000-unit augmentation to the monthly capacity of its line making strain wave gears.

The company is planning to break ground on a new facility in the third quarter in addition to its current 3.5-hectare production space.

“As robotic systems and automation-related technology are increasingly defining the configuration and operational systems of factories around the world, DTI is grateful that Nidec has poured resources to training Filipino engineers in developing skills related to the production of precision motors and reducers,” Mr. Lopez said.

Nidec, which first established a factory in the Philippines 1995, also has a facility in Laguna.

“Nidec said that it is riding on the increased market demand for harmonic systems. Four hundred new jobs will be added to Nidec’s workforce, targeted to reach a total of 1,000. The added investments will bring the factories’ total combined monthly exports to the US, European Union, India, South Korea, China, and Brazil to 80,000 units,” the DTI said.

“The company’s operations in the Philippines were previously devoted mainly to the production of spindle motors and related products. It has since expanded to products with more technology content to be used in the aerospace, robotics and solar tracking industries,” it added.

According to Dita Angara-Mathay, special trade representative and commercial counselor of the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, Nidec initially planned to increase production of components for hard disk drives.

However, the company shifted its corporate strategy due to a contraction in the global market for small-sized spindle motors.

“The company has relocated all its planetary gear business from China to the Philippines. Subsidiary and sister company Nidec Shimpo, one of the biggest global innovators for precision gearing solutions, started mass producing robotic components developed in Japan in the Philippines. The components have been described by developers as extremely silent with zero backlash and smooth rotation,” Ms. Mathay said. —