Food manufacturer Universal Robina Corp. (URC) said Thursday it broke ground on its new mega production plant in Malvar, Batangas.
URC said in a statement the new manufacturing facility, covering an area of 30.7 hectares, will employ some 3,000 workers directly and indirectly.
“This mega plant will feature state-of-the-art manufacturing technology—from the way it will be constructed all the way to how it will be operated,” said URC president and chief executive Irwin Lee.
Lee said many of the new, high-quality products URC would introduce in the coming years would be made in Malvar.
Construction of the manufacturing plant will begin this year and will be completed within 10 to 15 years.
Lee said the manufacturing plant’s high-end technology will optimize use of resources.
“The manufacturing lines to be installed in Malvar will incorporate design improvements that will further reduce material resource inputs, production wastage, labor efforts, and energy as well as water consumption,” he said.
It will have solar panels to generate power, and the buildings will make use of as much natural lighting and ventilation as possible.
It will also maximize recovery of rainwater and reuse of wastewater.
URC is one of the country’s largest food and beverage firms. It has been pivoting towards making renewable energy take up a bigger share in its power use.
It has been installing solar panels at several of its facilities in the Philippines and its manufacturing plans in Thailand and Vietnam.
“We look forward to building a healthy relationship with the people of Malvar. We also look forward to doing our part in economic development and nation-building by providing jobs to the residents of Malvar, and the rest of the country, with the full build-out of this manufacturing facility,” said Lee.