MinebeaMitsumi Philippines Inc., a unit of a major Japanese electronics company, is embarking on a P4-billion capacity expansion project in Naga City, Cebu for the production of optical image stabilizer components for smartphones.
MinebeaMitsumi manufactures the world’s smallest miniature ball bearing, class stepping motors and cluster tactile switch. It also produces the thinnest guide plate for LED and backlight for LCD.
The expansion project will require additional manpower of 30 percent of the current aggregate workers in the company’s three factories in Santo Tomas in Batangas, Mariveles in Bataan and Danao City in Cebu.
“As a manufacturer of ultra-precision components, MinebeaMitsumi strives to construct a system for stable supply by taking advantage of the worldwide manufacturing bases while constructing the safe and secure system for production management,” said company chairman and president Yoshihisa Kainuma.
The Japanese firm’s expansion will advance its compliance with sustainable development goals.
Kainuma said the company contributes to “MMI Beyond Zero”, an advocacy to reduce global carbon dioxide emission volume with products equipped with outstanding environmental performance worldwide.
The company intends to help the Philippine government reduce its carbon footprint by building a solar facility that will generate 12.82 gigawatt-hours per year to meet its carbon neutrality goals and address the recent rising cost of energy, he said.
Its global operations span 96 R&D centers and factories in 22 countries with close to 86,000 workers.
MinebeaMitsumi reported net sales of 1.12 trillion yen in March 2022. The company aims to double revenues to 2.5 trillion yen by 2029. With the planned expansion, the Philippines can become MinebeaMitsumi’s largest production base in the world.
MinebeaMitsumi is one the biggest exporters, employers and tax contributors in the Philippines. It is part of an elite group of foreign direct investors whose cumulative investments in the Philippines amount to over $1 billion.
A leading Japanese multinational producer of machinery components and electronics devices, MinebeaMitsumi holds 60 percent of the global market share for miniature ball bearings, a decent share in pivot assemblies for hard disk drives and 80 percent of global market for 1-cell lithium-ion battery protection integrated circuits.