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Thursday, August 11, 2005
Arroyo inaugurates Timex distribution center
Timex Philippines’ $13- million Global Distribution Center at Mactan Economic Zone was inaugurated yesterday with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as guest of honor.
The 4,300-square-meter facility will be the venue of packaging operations and the direct distribution of Timex products to its clients worldwide, especially to its big market in the US and Europe, said Joe Santana, president and chief executive officer of Timex Corp.
“This $13-million or some P715-million investment for this new facility is in addition to the $30 million we already have invested in our operation here (in the Philippines). That makes a total of $43 million,” he said.
Santana also said the new distribution center in the Philippines, a vision some five years ago, added 200 more employees to its current 4,300 workforce.
Arroyo, in her speech, said logistics is “the name of the game” in a very competitive world market.
“Timex Philippines is Timex’s largest logistic center globally. I’m very proud of that,” she said.
Arroyo visited Cebu yesterday while the House committee on justice met to take up the impeachment complaint against her in the country’s capital.
But Santana said the political crisis that recently hit the country couldn’t stop Timex from investing more and improving its services in the country.
He reported yesterday that Timex Philippines contributes about 80 percent of Timex’s global sales.
For its successful watch manufacturing in the country for 25 years, Santana said the company is not eyeing any other place in the country than Cebu.
“It never occurred to us to choose other location in the country. If we will expand more in the future, it would still be here in Cebu,” he assured.
Andrew Ledesma, manager of the distribution engineering and worldwide transportation of Timex Corp. said that with the center, the process of releasing the order of customers to the loading of their products to their corresponding airline containers, which are read for shipment, takes less than 60 minutes.
“The center is equipped with technology and has a system designed to produce 170,000 watches a day, packed and shipped in 16 jumbo airline containers per day to stores worldwide,” he also revealed.
Also present during yesterday’s activity was Philippine Economic Zone Authority Administrator Lilia Delima.
Aside from the Philippines, Timex has plants in India, China, and the United States. (ALC)
(August 11, 2005 issue)
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