Nestlé opens new P5-B factory in Batangas

Food manufacturing giant Nestlé has expanded operations in the Philippines with the opening of a new plant and committed to fresh investments in 2013.

Officials said Nestlé already started producing Coffee-Mate Non-Dairy Creamer and other products at the new P5-billion factory in Tanauan, Batangas.

This is the first time the company will locally produce Coffee-Mate, which used to be imported from Malaysia, Mexico and Thailand, Nestlé officials said.

The Tanauan factory will also produce Bear Brand powdered milk. The same brand is already being manufactured in Cagayan de Oro City.

The Tanauan manufacturing facility is the company’s fifth in the country, Nestlé said.

Also, the company has earmarked another P5 billion in capital expenditures in the Philippines for 2013, although actual disbursements may flow through 2014, said Nandu Nandkishore, Nestlé S.A. executive vice president for Asia Oceania and Africa.

The Philippines is among Nestlé’s major markets in the region, Nandkishore said in a briefing.

Nestlé Philippines chair and CEO John Martin Miller said the company would like to source most of its coffee and other ingredients in the country.

To this end, Nestlé is working with the Department of Agriculture and other stakeholders to improve domestic output and meet the company’s requirements.

David Findlay, Nestlé Philippines technical director, said the Tanauan factory, for example, would need cassava and corn among other ingredients to make non-dairy creamer.

Nestlé has invested close to P16 billion in the country from 2008 to 2012. Around 86 percent went to the improvement of production capabilities to meet the growing local market demand.

The balance of 14 percent went to sales infrastructure, distribution and information technology.

The company’s sales stood at P103 billion in 2011, up from P94 billion in 2012. In 2011, exports totaled 34,000 metric tons worth P6.6 billion.

According to Nandkishore, the Nestlé Group has always considered the Philippines to be an attractive investment destination.

He noted that the Philippines’ bright economic prospects and improving business sentiment would make the country a more attractive investment site and should, in turn, contribute significantly to the country’s growth.

The Tanauan factory stands on a 27-hectare property within the First Philippines Industrial Park, which was selected for its excellent infrastructure, ease of access, environmental advantages, and proximity to the ports of Batangas and Manila.