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Tuesday, May 17, 2005
European sauna maker eyes local market
A EUROPEAN sauna company with a manufacturing center at the Mactan Economic Zone 2 hopes to sell more of its products to the local market.
“Around 90 percent of our products have been exported for the last five years. We have minimal sales in the local market. But we are now in the direction of penetrating the local market because we see a potential here,” said VM Kallioniemi, president and marketing director of Sawo Inc., in an interview yesterday.
Sawo Inc. makes sauna rooms, heaters and accessories in Cebu for export to 60 countries in Europe and Asia, where it has a 60 percent slice of the market.
In the next three years, Kallioniemi projects Sawo’s local sales to be five times bigger than in the last five years.
“Mostly, our clients are hotels, resorts, spas, golf courses, among many others,” said Sawo managing director Teijo Kuiri.
Sawo’s sauna heaters have a very low operational cost of around P10 per hour. However, incorrect installation of the sauna will cost more energy, said Uwe Roessiger, general manager.
The officials said the sauna should not be viewed as a luxury because it has health benefits as well.
“There are more than five million people in Finland, and there are two to three million sauna units being used in the country (Finland). If our local market (in the Philippines) would know the health benefits of sauna, then we see not only Philippine commercial centers like hotels having saunas but households as well,” said Kallioniemi.
The sauna will revitalize the body and mind, release stress and tension, clean the skin by opening the pores and flushing out impurities from the body, and increase energy levels, among others, they said.
Currently producing 300 sauna heaters a day, Sawo Inc. expects to expand its workforce and production area to meet future demand.
Sawo now has 300 Filipino workers and a production area of over 5,000 square meters. It seeks to double this production area.
Kallioniemi said they chose the Philippines over China, which has cheaper labor costs, because Filipino workers are “very good and very teachable.”
Sawo will soon have a showroom in Cebu City. It will join the 2005 Philippine Building and Construction Exposition exhibit. (ALC)
(May 17, 2005 issue)
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