Friday, May 16, 2008
Industry sector in Cebu sees need for product innovation
EVEN while the Export Development Council (EDC) is yet to finalize the machinery parts and engineered products (MPEP) cluster of Cebu as one of the model export industry clusters in the country, those who belong to the sector have organized themselves to be more globally competitive.
The Cebu Machinery, Parts and Engineering Products Industry Clustering (CMPEPIC), created in April 2007 through the initiatives of former Science and Technology Secretary Ceferino F. Follosco, made the realization that its members are more focused on providing services rather than producing products.
These services include machining, engine fabrication, reconditioning, construction, steel fabrication, project management, engineering and design, welding, overhauling, metal casting, and electroplating, among others. But the sector can produce various products, like gear, ring gear, agricultural and mechanical equipment, piping fabrication, shafting and bolts.
After a series of meetings, the CMPEPIC is convinced that it has to do more in the area of product innovation and development to create a niche and be more competitive in the global market.
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To do this, CMPEPIC plans to identify specific products for development, such as food processing equipment, fabrication, and assembly. It also wants to link with the other national and regional priority clusters identified by the EDC, and give attention to developing automation expertise that combines mechanical with electrical and electronics expertise.
According to a report that Edilberto Paradela of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) 7 furnished to Sun.Star Cebu, CMPEPIC is calling higher education institutions to give priority to critical engineering disciplines, such as master in science and doctorate degrees in agricultural engineering, as well as in mechanical engineering.
To hasten product development, the group is promoting the improvement of curriculum and continuing education for engineers. They want universities to provide certain specializations.
Worried about the “depletion” of the country’s manpower expertise in agriculture, industry and services, the CMPEPIC also urged the Commission on Higher Education, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Philippine Regulation Commission, together with private schools, to review the negative effects of migration from rural area to urban to foreign land.
Paradela said that in a recent meeting, the group had come up with an action plan for the next few months and had identified sub-cluster contact persons to be more organized.
With the DOST 7 and Department of Trade and Industry 7 as advisory bodies, CMPEPIC initially had 18 members coming from metalworking/light engineering firms, the academe and professional organizations. It now recorded 62 member companies from Cebu, with Don Bosco Technology Center in Cebu City as its “champion” that is supported by a core group.
CMPEPIC is a product of the industry clustering concept being promoted by Follosco. It involves “a grouping of private firms, government and academic institutions all beholden to cooperate via sharing, technology transfers and networking with the main goal of providing a competitive final product or service,” said a DOST statement. (NRC)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 16, 2008 issue)
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