American sportswear and equipment manufacturer Head plans to establish a manufacturing facility to produce tennis balls in Mindanao, according to the Phividec Industrial Authority.
The PIA, a government-controlled economic zone, said Head was among the foreign and local investors that expressed interest to operate at the 3,000-hectare Phividec Industrial Estate in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.
PIA administrator and chief executive Franklin Quijano said Head was finalizing its investment plan in the area.
“There’s an MOU that we signed, but the contract is still in its initial stages. They’re doing a technical assessment of the location as well as soil sampling, the works,” Quijano said.
Head, a manufacturer of tennis and badminton equipment and sportswear, plans to produce about 10 million tennis balls in the Philippines for export.
The American company plans to establish a facility occupying about 4 to 5 hectares inside Phividec, according to Quijano. He said that while the size of employment was still being determined, the company agreed to hire local workers.
Quijano said the Philippines produces rubber that is mostly exported to foreign markets.
“Now, I’m happy to say that our rubber will be used by Head for their tennis ball production. This is value adding for our raw produce,” he said.
Phividec is a fast-rising investment destination in Mindanao. Last year, it signed a memorandum of understanding with San Miguel Corp. which committed to invest at least P4 billion in meat processing, feed mill, beer manufacturing and packaging.
Chinese integrated steel manufacturer HBIS Group Co. Ltd. also disclosed a plan to build a $4.4-billion integrated steel plant in Phividec.
The Chinese steelmaker is undertaking an initial assessment of the location and other technical concerns, said Quijano.
“All of these companies and several more have considered Phividec for their operations after Gardenia signed an MOU, and later an MOA, to have a bread plant in Phividec,” he said.
“I consider Gardenia my lucky charm. I started out in Phividec in August 2017, about the time Gardenia decided to locate their plant inside the economic zone,” Quijano said.
Gardenia recently inaugurated its fifth bread plant inside Phividec economic zone.
The plant will cater to Mindanao and will also support the supply system in Metro Manila.
The P1-billion bread plant is a fully-automatic facility.
