Nestlé Philippines is investing P2 billion in a new factory in Batangas province that will produce malt drinks under the Milo brand, a top executive said Tuesday.
“We continue to invest and we invest in a big way in the Philippines. We have been investing over P14 billion in the last five years to optimize manufacturing operations in the Philippines. This third plant at our Lipa factory is another major investment for the company,” Nestlé Philippines chairman and chief executive Jacques Reber said in a news briefing at Nestle headquarters in Rockwell Center, Makati City.
The announcement of the new Milo malt plant coincided with the celebration of Nestlé Group’s 150th anniversary this year.
“The Philippines is a key market for us at Nestlé. For over a century, we have continually affirmed our confidence in and commitment to the Philippines through our investments and expansion. Our P2-billion investment in the new Milo malt plant is another concrete demonstration of our commitment to the Philippines,” Reber said.
The 5,400-square-meter facility is capable of producing 35,000 metric tons of protomalt, a proprietary malt extract essential for body building. The plant is also designed to have provisions for capacity expansion, which would enable it to export to other Nestle companies abroad.
Construction of the Milo malt plant began in December 2015 and is expected to be completed in October 2017.
It will will be the third plant at Nestlé Lipa factory complex which has a total land area of 29 hectares. The factory’s two other plants manufacture Milo and breakfast cereals, respectively.
The Philippine malt plant will be Nestle’s fourth malt facility after those in Nigeria, Australia and Singapore.
Protomalt in the Philippines is currently sourced from Singapore. Reber said the company would employ the contract growing model to have access to a steady supply of quality cassava where malt is derived. Milo protomalt is made from extracts from cassava and barley.
Nestlé said while cassava would initially be imported from Thailand, it was now looking at using cassava from farmers in the Philippines to create shared value, a move that was expected to help improve livelihood, further boost agriculture and uplift the cassava industry in the country.
Nestlé started to qualify cassava farmers in Mindanao
Reber said Nestlé was confident in the growth of the Philippine economy, consistent with its long-term mission of nurturing generations of Filipino families and contributing to nation-building.
