SMC subsidiary expansion gets BOI approval

MINDANAO CORRUGATED Fibreboard Inc. (MCFI), a wholly owned subsidiary of San Miguel Corp., has secured Board of Investments approval for the P219.2-million expansion of its operations in Sasa, Davao City.

According to BOI data, the project would boost the corrugated box plant’s capacity by 58,447 metric tons (MT) a year. Its present capacity is placed at 62,000 MT.

By next month, the company will be able to produce 120,447 MT of corrugated boxes, which would be sold mainly to fruit exporters whose markets included China, Japan, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East.

Around 80 percent of the company’s output would be sold to these fruit exporters.

The expansion was prompted by a surge in demand from MCFI’s exporter-clients.

Last year, plant utilization was already more than 90 percent, with a lot of demand still to be served. To boost capacity, MCFI acquired and installed new corrugating and box-making machines as well as other machinery and equipment.

This project represented the company’s second application for expansion, having registered the first with the BOI in April 2000.

Once operational, this second expansion project will provide jobs to 24 individuals.

“The expansion of MCFI is a boon to the export industry, as demand grows for homegrown products such as fruits,” Trade Secretary and BOI chair Gregory Domingo said. Abigail L. Ho