Thai firm builds P2-B fiber cement board factory in Pampanga

Shera, a leading producer of innovative fiber-cement products in ASEAN, is investing P2 billion for a fiber cement board manufacturing operation in the country, making the Philippines its first production hub outside of Thailand.

Thunnop Jumpasri, president and country head for Philippines and Malaysia of Shera Public Company Ltd., announced their investments as they formally introduced their operation at the opening of the Philippine World Building and Construction Exposition (WORLDBEX) on Thursday, March 14, at the World Trade Center.

Jumpasri said the expansion in the Philippines has been driven by the strong growth in the local construction sector, which he said is the fastest growing among ASEAN countries.

“This will be our first outside of Thailand,” he said adding that the expansion into the Philippines is part of the company’s plans for its 50^th anniversary.

The factory, located in a five-acre property in the TECO Park in Mabalacat, Pampanga, has already started initial operations last year and is expected to start full operation in October this year.

The plant will initially produce 100,000 MT annually, but will eventually ramp up to 200,000 metric tons. It expects to employ as much as 150 workers.

According to Jumpasri, Shera will not only introduce regular boards to the local construction sector but also other new decorative boards.

Last year, Shera generated P1.5 billion sales for its Philippine business. “We are positive to grow around 10-15 percent this year,” he added.

Shera has been doing business in the Philippines for the past 15 years as a supplier of fiber cement boards from Thailand. “We’ve made lots of market penetration and we’ve seen lots of changes and big opportunities as you know the Philippines is the fastest growing in the construction sector in ASEAN,” he said.

There are also plans to expand to other countries but, he said, the “Philippines is our priority outside of Thailand.”

For now, the Pampanga plant production will only serve the Philippine market, but it could also serve as a production hub in the future for potential exports to non-ASEAN countries such as Taiwan, South Korea and some parts of China.

According to Jumpasri, Shera is also seeking registration of its project with the Board of Investment for tax incentives purposes.

With production capacity of one million MT a year, Shera is the biggest fiber cement board manufacturer in Southeast Asia.

SHERA offers innovative, sustainable and eco-friendly fiber cement that can be used for different ceilings, floors, and wall applications such as wall cladding, sidings, floor decking, ceiling eaves, among others.

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The article was originally published in Manila Bulletin and written by Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat.