US conglomerate 3M Corp. on Friday opened a global service center in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, becoming the company’s third global hub.
3M executive president for international operations Hak Cheol Sin said the company would also launch a consumer technical service facility in the Philippines in the next three months. GSC Manila will employ 880 Filipinos.
“The GSC is an internal function of the company. It aims to simplify and standardize processes into a single global system that we will deploy to all our offices around the world,” Sin said.
He said the Manila hub was the second largest in the world, next to the one in San Jose, Costa Rica that opened early this year. The first hub in Poland opened in 2015.
The global science and manufacturing firm produces more than 55,000 products throughout the world, ranging from household products, adhesives, abrasives, non-wovens, fire protection, dental and orthodontic products, electronic materials, medical and car care products. Its brands include Scotch-Brite, Scotch, Post-it and Command.
3M executives said they decided to establish presence in the Philippines, because of the country’s huge growth potential.
The Philippines GSC will be responsible for critical processes in finance, sourcing and procurement and human resources. It will also provide IT support for quality, reporting, analytics, security and database management.
The newly-built 3M GSC facility is located at Bonifacio Stopover Corporate Center in Taguig.
“We chose Manila as our third GSC facility because of the Philippines’ strategic advantages which include a well-qualified workforce with service center expertise,” said 3M vice president for global services Ippo Vrohidis.
The Manila hub will employ about 880 heads and expects to end 2016 with an initial workforce of 130.
“All three GSCs will work together to strengthen 3M’s internal operations and provide the highest level of service to clients around the world,” said Vrodihis.
GSC Philippines is expected to be an important part of 3M’s efforts to position itself as a leading science and manufacturing company and a provider of services at a global level.
The facility is a crucial enterprise that will help achieve its goal of putting clients first and achieving service excellence.