Mariwasa allots P400M for ‘green’ facility

BUSINESS MIRROR
MONDAY, 19 SEPTEMBER 2011 18:20 CAI U. ORDINARIO / REPORTER


BANGKOK, Thailand—In the face of rising fuel prices, the country’s leading tile manufacturer Mariwasa Siam Ceremics Inc. is investing in a P400-million facility in Batangas that is powered by alternative fuel. 
Mariwasa’s outgoing president Surasak Kraiwitcahicharoen told visiting Philippine journalists here that the facility will be completed by mid-2012. Construction works on the said plant began five months ago.


“This [high energy cost] is what eats up our income. Energy costs account for 40 percent of our expenses,” Kraiwitcahicharoen pointed out.


The said facility will use rice husks to power a generator used for day-to-day operations. Apart from reducing energy cost, Kraiwitcahicharoen said the “green” facility will also make a significant contribution to increasing profits, which has been experiencing a reduction in the past years due to the entry of cheap imported tiles. 


He said the entry of imported tiles has reduced the company’s market share to below 30 percent from around 60 percent in 1993. Today, the Mariwasa official said, imported tiles account for over 50 percent of tiles available in the Philippine market.


Part of the reason for the rapid increase in imported tiles in the country, Kraiwitcahicharoen said, was the strong peso. Any appreciation of the peso makes imports cheaper and exports more expensive.


This is why, Kraiwitcahicharoen said, the company—together with other tile manufacturers—are asking the government for additional support by requiring tile importers to import only products that meet Philippine standards.


In order to meet the said Philippine standards, Mariwasa had to secure permits and pass monthly tests. This is not only time consuming but costs a certain amount of capital on the part of the firm, the company executive said.


“We’re not worried about the competition, we need a fair [playing field]. We can’t stop importers. We understand they want to make business. [But] we follow Philippines standards, so they have to follow Philippine standards [as well],” he said.


With this new alternative facility and Mariwasa’s commitment to around 3,000 workers it directly and indirectly employs in the Philippines, these challenges will not prevent them from continuing improving its facilities and processes.