Philec, Italian firm in talks to build power transformers

business mirror

MONDAY, 11 JULY 2011 01:47 MAX V. DE LEON / REPORTER

LOPEZ-OWNED Philippine Electric Corp. (Philec) is in talks with Italy’s TMC Transformers for a possible joint manufacturing operations here.

Hubert D’Aboville, president of the European Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCP), who is brokering the talks between the two firms, said officials of TMC have already visited the Philippines twice to meet with the Philec management and discuss the possibility of partnering for the assembly of transformers here.

He said he met again with the TMC Transformers representatives in Milan at the Philippine investment mission organized by the ECCP and Italian Embassy late last month. The company will be sending another delegation to Manila soon.

“I recommended Philec because I think it is the best in the country. TMC would like to select a good partner and I thought the best would be Philec,” D’Aboville said.

Philec is majority owned by the Lopez-controlled First Philippine Holdings Corp.  According to its corporate website, the company was established in 1969 as the country’s pioneering manufacturer of distribution transformers. It manufactures a wide range of single and three-phase distribution and power transformers up to 15 megavolt-amperes.

Philec has a strong in-house technical capability developed over the years through technical tie-ups with leading world class technology corporations such as General Electric and Cooper Power System in the US and Hitachi of Japan.

TMC Transformers, said in its website that it is a “market leader in the design and manufacture of medium/low voltage, resin-cast transformers.” Based in Varese, the company has production sites in Italy, Spain and Argentina, assembly lines in Israel and commercial subsidiaries in Germany, France and the UK. TMC also enjoys business partnerships in northern and eastern Europe.

TMC said industrial partnerships are being developed in Russia, South Africa, Southeastern Asia and India, where TMC Transformers has its engineering branch.

D’Aboville said should TMC and Philec come to terms, they will take it step by step towards the manufacturing of transformers here. A decision will be made within the next few months, he said.

“Initially they would target the local market and later on a few a Southeast Asian countries that will be selected,” he said.

Officials of Philec were not immediately available for comment.