MARIVELES, Bataan – San Miguel Pure Foods Corporation Inc. (SMPFC), under the conglomerate San Miguel Corporation, inaugurated its new B-MEG plant on 19 March 2018 at the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) in the Municipality of Mariveles, Bataan. As part of B-MEG’s capacity expansion program, this is the first of the four plants (Bulacan, Davao, CDO) intended to be constructed and made operational within the year.

Jess Magtira, Vice President and Strategic Manager for SMPFC, announced that the project is an important pillar of the company’s strategy to dominate the food industry in the country, explaining that ”…To meet growing demand we’ve been opting for greater investment to expand capacity, augmenting  production in older facilities with larger and more efficient facilities…” Touted as the largest and most modern feedmill in the country, the new B-MEG plant will run commercially by April and is expected to produce more than 20,000 bags a day of 50 kilos or around six million bags per year. By partnering with Buhler, a Swiss company with a leading market position in technologies and methods for processing grain into flour and feed, said plant will utilizestate-of-the art technology using world-class machines and modern turnkey equipment, particularly a robotic palletizing system which shall ensure fast and hygienic bagging of feeds.

Vice President and Manager for Agro-Industrial Cluster Dr. Leo Obviar is optimistic that this new era in feed milling technology is timely amidst “the rising cost of materials and logistics, tighter government regulations and increase competition from local and foreign players”. While other milling industries have fallen behind in nutrition technology and the latest innovations in poultry and livestock, he emphasized that the “design, engineering and metallurgy are specifically designed to handle higher levels of difficult raw materials, allowing their nutritionists to formulate more precisely and avoid wastes”.

Consistent with SMPFC’s core value aimed at improving the quality of life in communities where it operates, President Francisco S. Alejo III highlighted the social impact of the project in terms of helping generate livelihood opportunities where it matters, the countryside.

For the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan’s part, Chairman and Administrator Emmanuel Pineda recognized SMPFC’s contribution in achieving the mandate of the AFAB. The new B-MEG plant, which is to be operated by San Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI), is poised to generate employment for the people of Mariveles, further committing an additional 200 jobs in the next few months and a committed initial investment amounting to Php317,185,050.48. SMFI has been a FAB Registered Enterprise since September 2015 and is engaged in the business of manufacturing feeds for poultry, livestock, and marine species. B-MEG, the flagship brand of San Miguel Foods Corporation, has grown over the years to become the leading livestock feed brand in the Philippines with 25 feed mills located across the Philippines.

The FAB is the Freeport of choice in the Philippines for high-end fashion manufacturing enterprises, having posted the fastest growth rate in both investment and employment generation from 2012 to 2016, holding true to its mandate of employment generation and improvement of the quality of living conditions. The FAB envisions itself to be a magnet for development, and is now moving towards attracting Business Process Outsourcing, logistics, and port-related operations.

 

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AFAB