Mega Global investing over P1B for new manufacturing plant

Food canning giant Mega Global Corp. is investing over P1 billion to build its first manufacturing plant in Luzon as it aims to take a bigger market share and expand its presence further across the country.

In a virtual press conference, Mega Global president and CEO William Tiu-Lim announced that the company will build a state-of-the-art, multi-line food manufacturing facility in Sto. Tomas, Batangas province.

Mega Global, the maker of household brands Mega Sardines and Mega Tuna, has two manufacturing plants located in barangays Ayala and Talisayan in Zamboanga City.

Tiu-Lim said the establishment of a manufacturing plant in Batangas is aimed at meeting growing demand for the company’s canned goods both in Luzon and overseas “and to help boost the Philippine economy amidst the pandemic.”

He added that with the new manufacturing plant the company will be able to increase its current market share of 30% in the sardines category by another double-digit in the next three to five years.

The plant, set for groundbreaking on November 23, is scheduled to be fully operational by February 2022.

Apart from increasing Mega Global’s market share, the new production facility is also seen to directly create over 1,000 new jobs. It will run using an energy-efficient light source to minimize its carbon footprint.

Aside from the state-of-the-art technology and machines to process sardines, the plant will also have a world-class, zero-waste fish meal facility, cold storage, and warehouse.

“We are very grateful for the opportunity to invest more in our expansion and diversification plans in 2020 and to help drive economic growth in the coming years,” Tiu-Lim said.

“This plant will also allow us to support local businesses as we plan to source our raw materials and manpower from suppliers within Luzon as part of DTI’s Buy Local, Go Lokal initiative,” he added.

With the sardines line set to be completed as early as August 2021, the plant will increase Mega Global’s production capacity by as much as 50% from the current capacity of 300 metric tons a year of its Zamboanga operations.

Tiu-Lim added that Mega Global is also moving to secure international certifications for the company’s Sto. Tomas facility so that its products could be exported abroad, including to Europe and the Middle East.

To ensure the safety of the plant’s construction, he said Mega Global is complying with all safety and health regulations imposed by the government to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.—AOL, GMA News