BIZ BUZZ: San Miguel mega poultry plant

It’s the country’s largest poultry plant, and it took only four months to build, from groundbreaking all the way to today’s inauguration ceremonies which will be spearheaded by no less than President Marcos.

We’re talking about the so-called mega poultry plant in Davao City of San Miguel Foods, the food and beverage unit of the country’s largest conglomerate, San Miguel Corp.

Biz Buzz hears that the new 900-hectare facility will be able to produce some 80 million heads of chicken annually. At an average weight of 2.5 kilograms per chicken, its total output of 200 million kilos of chicken meat will be enough to satisfy all the poultry needs of Mindanao.

San Miguel president and CEO Ramon Ang ordered his key people to ensure that the output of the mega poultry plant will complement rather than kill all the backyard chicken farmers around the country.

“Only dressed chicken and value-added chicken products will be produced in this plant, so that our small-scale poultry producers will still be able to sell their products in the markets,” said one source familiar with the project.

Also expected to benefit are the country’s corn and cassava farmers who will grow the raw material for all that feed that the chickens have to consume.

But wait, there’s more. This Davao facility is only the first of several that San Miguel will put up around the country over the next few years. Four other mega plants will rise in other regions over the next decade.

With these plants being vertically integrated, and with production at this scale, it is hoped that the end result will be cheaper chicken products for everyone. Fingers crossed.

—Daxim L. Lucas

PH’s best employers

Some of the country’s largest firms also happen to be among the “best companies to work for”, according to HR Asia.

HR Asia named 50 companies in the 2023 Philippines list, up from 35 last year.

These included Aboitiz Land, Cargill Philippines, Chevron Holdings, Citicore Renewable Energy, Coca-Cola Beverages, DDB Group, GCash, Globe Telecom, Makati Development Corp., Megaworld Corp., Procter & Gamble, Puregold Price Club, SM Supermalls, The Insular Life Assurance Co., Union Bank of the Philippines; and Universal Robina Corp. (URC).

The full list can be found on HR Asia’s website.

URC, owned by the Gokongwei family, was especially pleased to be included in the latest rankings after bagging three certifications for its business units in the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.

“We’re truly honored to be among the best workplaces in Asia,” URC president and CEO Irwin Lee said.

“These consecutive recognitions and certifications for our different units are significant accomplishments for the organization, as they show that URC’s corporate culture fosters a flexible, nurturing work environment that lets talents and careers thrive,” he added.

—Miguel R. Camus