German tool maker ZAMA has committed to invest billions of pesos into the Philippines and provide more employment opportunities in pioneering projects.
“We are glad to be partners with government in its efforts to promote employment. Once our facility is up and running, we can create more than 650 new jobs for Filipinos,” Zama Precision Industry Manufacturing Inc. managing director Karsten Wagner said.
ZAMA, a unit of STIHL, the German manufacturer of chainsaws and other handheld power equipment, including trimmers and blowers, noted that unemployment rate in the Philippines was still at a high of 6.4 percent, while underemployment was at 17.8 percent.
The company plans to employ as much 650 employees once the P2.5-billion manufacturing plant Batangas becomes operational in January next year.
Wagner said it would hire at least 150 employees by yearend and another 500 in 2016, mostly skilled mechanics with background in electronics and highly experienced in production work
The Batangas plant is part of a multi-billion peso investment commitment of ZAMA when the company registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
ZAMA’s entry into the domestic market is recognized as one of the biggest local investments of a German company in the Philippines.
The facility, located at the First Philippine Industrial Park in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, broke ground in September.
Filipino workers would have accounted for one-third of ZAMA’s workforce worldwide once the plant’s operations are in full swing.
“A great part of the staff will be sent to China for training and there will also be experts from China who will come to train to the employees for machine operations as well as other technical aspects,” said Wagner.
Wagner said additional training was needed to ensure they work in accordance with ZAMA’s strict, high technology and quality standards.
The company will also invest heavily on hands-on coaching.
“We are eager to work with Filipinos as we have heard so many good things about them. In partnership with them, we are confident that ZAMA’s operations in the Philippines will surpass expectations and will greatly contribute to STIHL Groups’s consolidated operations,” Wagner said.
Zama Holding GmbH is recognized as a technology leader and the world’ largest manufacturer of diaphragm carburetors.
It operates plants in Japan, Hong Kong, China and the United States. It employs 2,400 workers worldwide and produces more than 14 million carburetors in about 350 different models.