Food ingredients and plastics producer D&L Industries Inc. said Monday it launched the commercial operation of its P10.5-billion new manufacturing plant in Batangas province.
“Today, we celebrate an important milestone. After facing several challenges in the form of a pandemic, strict lockdowns during the construction and global supply chain bottlenecks, our next-generation facility in Batangas has finally started commercial operations,” said D&L president and chief executive Alvin Lao in a statement.
Lao said the opening of the Batangas plant would enable D&L to expand its international footprint and manufacture higher value-added products as global demand returns.
D&L said the Batangas plant issued its first invoice on Monday, which marked the commencement of commercial operations as defined by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.
Lao said the plant successfully moved into a soft-opening status with several production lines already up and running.
D&L expects the full commercial operations in the next couple of months after the final fine-tuning works on the remaining parts of the plant were completed.
Lao said the new plant would also enable D&L to move a step closer to its customers by providing customized solutions and simplifying their supply chain, which is of high importance given the ongoing global logistical challenges.
“The new plant will also be instrumental in D&L’s goal of putting the Philippines on the map as a quality manufacturing hub for sustainable, natural and organic products,” the company said.
D&L plans to launch a full range of shelf-ready products made from coconut oil for export. These include personal and baby care, cosmetics and beauty care, household cleaning, health and nutrition and food and vegetable oils categories that are sustainable, natural and organic.
The plant is located within the 26-hectare First Industrial Township-Special Economic Zone in Batangas.