Japanese electronics parts maker Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. has opened its first Philippine plant, a move seen to boost the company's production capacity in Southeast Asia.
The P350-million investment of Philippine Murata Co. of Murata, Inc. (PMM) involved the construction of a 3.6-hectare facility in the First Philippine Industrial Park in Batangas City.
The project is in response to growing demand for ceramic capacitors which is used in laptops, tablets and smartphones, including Apple's iPhone 5.
"Chip type monolithic ceramic capacitors are essential components for electronic equipment. For example, more than 500 monolithic ceramic capacitors are assembled into one latest smartphone," Murata said in a statement.
The company's President Tsuneo Murata meanwhile said: "When fully operational, it will be capable of producing a variety of models in representative production scales, enabling us to greatly increase our scope of production."
"The construction of this factory and the expansion of production are very important projects for the Murata Group as a whole," he added.
Murata expects to start the production of monolithic ceramic operators in the Philippines as soon as the new Batangas plant becomes operational by January 2013.
"[I]t is anticipated that other products will also be manufactured at PMM in the future," Murata said.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Tuesday announced a $1.8-billion military upgrade to help defend his country's maritime territory against "bullies", amid an ever-worsening dispute with China.


