Emerson invests $35M in PH unit expansion

US-based technology company Emerson has expanded its presence in the Philippines with a new, $35-million business process outsourcing (BPO) hub in Quezon City.

Initially hosting 2,300 employees, the new facility at SM Cyber West Avenue provides training and services to Emerson’s global, regional and local customers, with space for future growth.

The $35-million facility, together with the $20-million Emerson Process Management engineering and service center which opened in Pasig City in June 2014, brings Emerson’s investment in the Philippines for the past year to $55 million.

The hub in Pasig City supports sales of Emerson’s automation technologies and engineering services in Asia Pacific and around the world.

Emerson also has a customer support service center in Mandaluyong City.

“Investing in the Philippines to access its educated, skilled and professional-minded work force, is a key element of our strategy to succeed in Asia,” Emerson chair and CEO David N. Farr said on the opening of the hub in Quezon City.

“With globalization, customers are expecting a team with an international mindset and technical knowledge,” Emerson VP and Philippines general manager Phil Kelaart said.

He said Emerson Process Management’s Technical Learning Center aimed to enhance professional development of its in-house technical engineers and customers, by bridging the gap between field experience and classroom training.

The Integrated Solutions center features the technologies and solutions of the different Emerson business platforms, he said. For example, Emerson Process Management allows customers to experience the company’s solutions that optimize process efficiency and remote diagnostics.

The facility also features Emerson Climate Technologies Partner+ Technical & Training Center which provides HVACR contractors with training and education on the basics of advanced refrigeration principles. The comprehensive service program offered to HVACR contractors and end-users aims to empower contractors and end-users to make sound business decisions and improve job performance.

Emerson in the Philippines provides support for the company and its customers in the areas of accounting, customer support, finance, information technology, human resources, marketing, business development and supply chain management, and has grown from a few hundred employees to about 4,400 in 2014.

Emerson, based in St. Louis, Missouri, is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions for customers in industrial, commercial, and consumer markets around the world.

The company is composed of five business segments: Process Management, Industrial Automation, Network Power, Climate Technologies, and Commercial & Residential Solutions.

Sales in fiscal year 2014 were $24.5 billion, Emerson said.