Suzuki investment gives boost to Filipino processing sector

Suzuki Motor Corporation (Hamamatsu, Japan) is banking on strong growth in the two-wheeler market in the Philippines with a major investment in an assembly operation that will also benefit the nation's plastics processing sector.

Suzuki breaks ground on production plant in Philippines.

The motorcycle market in the Philippines grew 19% last year to reach 760,000 units while Suzuki manufactured approximately 85,000 units in the year through March 2011. In order to meet this meet increasing demand, Suzuki will construct a new plant in the Carmelray Industrial Park I 47-km south of Manila with annual production capacity of approximately 200,000 units. The investment for the new plant is expected to be approximately 2.1 billion yen ($26 million), and it is scheduled to start operating in June 2012. PP consumption in the Philippines last year was estimated at approximately 240,000 tonnes by consultant Townsend Solutions (Houston) with forecast growth of 4.5% per annum through to 2015. Usage of PP in injection molding applications, however, remains at lower levels than other Southeast Asian nations.-mpweditorial@ubm.com