ASIAPHIL FOCUSES TRANSFORMATION AS IT ITS FOOTPRINT OVERSEAS
Transformation is neverending—perhaps especially for a company which has been in the business for four and a half decades. As a leading power solutions provider, ASIAPHIL INC. has been in the business of connecting communities in the far-flung islands and barangays all over the country to safe and reliable electricity. Thus, being instrumental in improving the lives of Filipinos.
This year, as the company celebrates its 45th anniversary, it has grown to be more automated. And recruiting more skilled people ensures its readiness to face the everevolving needs of its diverse clients for the years ahead.
“It’s exciting times for us at ASIAPHIL. The market continues to challenge us to come up with innovative ideas to serve our customers better. Luckily, our company has had a very good track record of coming up with solutions to whatever comes our way,” Victor Batungbacal, the company’s president, told the Inquirer in an interview.
Among ASIAPHIL’s products and services are turn-key power substation solutions, overhead (and submarine) transmission lines construction, HOPE substation rentals, preventive maintenance programs, upgrading and energysaving solutions. They also offer electric switchgears and relay protection panels, and substation equipment.
“Because we’ve been here for 45 years, our goal is to assure our customers that their power needs are met. We do this by investing in locations that are near to them. This results in a localized understanding of our stakeholders and accessibility, thus making our customers feel more comfortable with us, " he said.
Humble beginnings
It was in 1973 when Guillermo Batungbacal, Victor’s father, founded ASIAPHIL—at a time when foreign companies dominated the field. It was one of the first Filipino-owned firms to specialize in the manufacture of panel boards, electrical distribution equipment, and substations. Back then, it was challenging to grow the company because their services were almost always an afterthought, with clients not giving as much importance to a building’s power needs as much as they should. Luckily, this has changed over the years, with building owners realizing now how important this part of the equation is.
It was in 1988 that Victor officially joined ASIAPHIL and has been at the helm for the past 30 years. “I was lucky to inherit a company that has built a solid reputation for delivering results. My father did a great job building the company’s name. If there’s one thing that I learned from him, it’s that we have to always be reliable, our products always safe, because people’s lives are at stake,” Batungbacal said. “My father had a very conservative way of doing things. Our generation has more access to information and was more open to adopting technological advances, so decisionmaking was faster."
Further expansion
In the past, ASIAPHIL focused on industrial and commercial es- tablishments, including building high-voltage transmission lines in provincial substations. While this is an excellent route to take for the business, Batungbacal realized through experience that there are other avenues to explore.
In recent years, ASIAPHIL has been involved with more exciting challenges such as installing submarine cables, upgrading windmills, setting up solar panels, and upgrading the power system of the MRT 3 line so that more trains could be used.
“There’s a culture of innovation in ASIAPHIL, at wanting to expand the products and services we offer, and to share our expertise in different industries,” Batungbacal said. The company plans to further expand its footprint overseas. Last year, ASIAPHIL acquired a stake in a transformer company in Vietnam.
When it comes to running the organization, Batungbacal is all for professionalizing the family business. For ASIAPHIL to keep growing and evolving, what matters most is getting reliable, competent, and trustworthy individuals who will carry the core values that the Batungbacal family has set over the years.
“While we have grown as