Hella-Philippines expands PH operations

The local unit of Germany-based Hella KGaA Hueck and Co., one of the world’s 50 leading automotive suppliers, is further expanding its operations in the Philippines this year as it targets to capture a bigger share of the domestic market.

Hella-Philippines Inc., which manufactures quality automotive lighting, plans to invest some P5 million for additional equipment at its production facility in Dasmariñas, Cavite, said Lourdes Soriano, who heads the company’s finance and administration department.

“This equipment will allow the company to metalize big lamps as currently we are producing only smaller versions. Roughly, [this investment] will increase our sales by [up to] 20 percent,” Soriano said in a phone interview with the Inquirer.

The additional equipment will not just increase efficiency and productivity of the Cavite facility, but also accommodate the expected increase in demand for the company’s products this year.

Roughly 90 percent of the automotive lighting products manufactured at Hella’s facility in Cavite are for domestic consumption.

The rest are exported.

Hella Philippines was established as a pioneering manufacturer of premium quality automotive and motorcycle lighting components in December 1978.