EEI unit ties up with 2 Japan firms for new business

Yuchengco group-led construction firm EEI Corp. has rolled out a new scaffolding and formwork rental business in partnership with two Japanese firms.

The new unit that will handle the project—JP System Asia Inc. (JPSAI)—is a joint venture among EEI subsidiary Equipment Engineers Inc., Japan’s leading scaffolding and allied products rental company, Sansin Sangyo Co. Ltd., and KYC Machine Industry Co. Ltd., a Japanese construction machine manufacturer.

JPSAI was incorporated in December 2016 with a 60-percent stake under EEI, aiming to “bring in the Japanese scaffolding and formwork rental standards and discipline in the Philippine construction industry.”

Founded in 1974, Sansin Sangyo offers numerous types of scaffolding and state-of-the-art solar panel systems.

KYC Machine manufactures construction machines from the small machineries to large plants. The new venture seeks to bring in its expertise in supplying shoring and scaffolding products.

Scaffolding, made up of timber or steel, is a temporary structure used as a platform to carry on construction works. It should be stable and strong to support construction workers and other construction materials.

EEI is involved in the installation, construction and erection of power generating facilities, oil refineries, chemical production plants, cement plants, food and beverage manufacturing facilities, semiconductor assembly plants, roads, bridges, rails, ports, airports and other infrastructure alongside high-rise residential and office towers, and hotel buildings. It also operates one of the country’s modern steel fabrication plants. The company is also engaged in doing construction projects overseas.

In the first quarter of the year, EEI chalked up a consolidated net income of P290.8 million, 197 percent higher year-on-year. Consolidated revenue amounted to P3.84 billion during the first quarter, 6 percent year-on-year.

Revenue from domestic construction activities accounted for P3.43 billion, slightly lower than in the same period of 2016. The company’s increasing shift to slower-paced but longer-duration infrastructure projects tempered its revenue recognition. Revenue from services increased by 27 percent year-on-year to P223.3 million as a result of improved activities in a number of its subsidiaries.

“The growth trend of the four quarters of 2016 suggests a momentum that will likely follow through into 2017. From the company’s perspective, private construction has remained steady, while acceleration in public construction activity has been observed in the increase in its infrastructure projects,” the company said in a recent regulatory filing.

“Growth in the overall construction sector appears to be strong, which could be an indication of the thrust of the government in implementing critical infrastructure projects.”—DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA