PROCTER & GAMBLE (P&G) OPENS NEW DIAPER MANUFACTURING LINE IN LAGUNA — Photo shows Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual (center) led the ribbon-cutting ceremony together with P&G Philippines President and General Manager Raffy Fajardo (right), and P&G Cabuyao Plant Manager Seema Menon, at the inauguration of the new P&G diaper manufacturing line in Cabuyao, Laguna on Thursday, March 2, 2023. Procter & Gamble (P&G), the world’s leading consumer goods company, has completed a new diaper manufacturing line worth P864 million to expand production capacity at its current facility in Cabuyao, Laguna for export to South Korea and Vietnam.
Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said during the plant inauguration Thursday, March 2 that the Pampers Pull-up Pants line is P&G Philippines’ biggest of three expansion projects in the country for 2022-2023. It is also one of the most advanced manufacturing lines for P&G in Asia.
Registered with the Board of Investment in September 2022, the project will produce baby diaper products that will eventually be exported and sold to Korea and Vietnam.
The export value of these products, which P&G also manufactures, has jumped over six-fold from $6 million in 2018 to $40 million in 2022. Last year, South Korea was the top export market for these products, followed by Vietnam and Malaysia.
“This P864-million investment is the direct outcome of a critical economic reform that the Philippine economic team has pushed for since the previous administration— Republic Act 11534 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act or CREATE,” Pascual said.
Aside from Pampers, P&G’s Cabuyao Plant also produces the company’s trusted home and hygiene brands such as laundry detergents Ariel and Tide, dishwashing liquid Joy, fabric conditioner Downy, disposable period pads Whisper, and antibacterial soap Safeguard for the local and export market.
Among other benefits listed in the CREATE Law, the importation of capital equipment, raw materials, or accessories is exempt from tax and duty.
Pascual said that the manufacturing operation of P&G augurs well for the government’s vision to develop a sustainable and innovative manufacturing industry. “We aspire to become a leading manufacturing hub across Asia,” he said.
He said that the country’s unique location favors upcoming manufacturing projects as it is a critical
entry point to over 600 million people in the ASEAN market. The Philippines is at the crossroads of international shipping and airline trade routes. Within Asia, the Philippines is often reachable within 3 to 4 hours by plane, he pointed out.
“We will continue to promote strategic partnerships between the government, private sector, academe, and other relevant institutions. This is to provide more targeted interventions to address specific binding constraints of the manufacturing industry,” he added.
Pascual further cited the company for its continued expansion and integration of its operations with the rest of the world for the past 115 years
P&G Philippines is the company’s first operational unit in the Far East and the second oldest P&G subsidiary outside North America. It started operations in the Philippines in 1908 when two American ex-troopers established a partnership named Manila Refining Company.
According to Pascual, the local unit was then called the Philippine Manufacturing Company or PMC when he was offered his first job after college in the 1970s.
“I worked at your former Tondo plant in Manila for two years: the first year was as the industrial engineer of the Camay and Safeguard Department, and the second year was as the manager of the Dari-Crème, Purico, and Primex Department,” the DTI chief shared.
P&G further expanded and established in Manila in 1999 its Global Business Services, a pioneer in the BPO-Global Inhouse Center industry. Now, P&G GBS serves one-third of P&G companies worldwide, currently employing 1,600 full-time employees.
P&G also operates a Regional Operating Headquarters since 2011 to support your subsidiaries and affiliates in Asia.
As a P&G alumnus, Pascual thanked the company for continuously investing in Filipinos, helping them become future leaders. “P&G alumni like myself recognize P&G as an excellent training ground for young Filipinos,” said the trade chief.
“With your long stay in the country and the scale of your operations, P&G Philippines has contributed significantly to our country’s economic growth and development. It has been consistently recognized as one of the top taxpayers in the Philippines,” he said.
He said that P&G’s merchandise items and consumer brands have become household names for cleaning and personal care products in many Filipino homes. P&G Philippines has a robust portfolio of product brands, notably Safeguard, Tide, Downy, Ariel, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Oral-B, Olay, and Joy.