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SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2017
Business
Ray S. Eñano, Editor / Roderick dela Cruz, Issue Editor business@thestandard.com.ph
GERMAN GROUP OFFERS TO HELP INDUSTRIALIZE PH Scan this icon to view the PDF
INDUSTRIALISTS.
Executives of thyssenkrupp AG meet journalists in Makati City. Shown are (from left) Vivek Bhatia, CEO for Asia Pacific of thyssenkrupp Singapore Pte. Ltd.; Kevin Chui, country head of thyssenkrupp Philippines; and Jan Lueder, CEO of thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd.
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German industrial group that has played a crucial role in the industrialization of Europe and survived two world wars is now looking at the Philippines as an area of growth, as the country attempts to reinvigorate its manufacturing sector.
Thyssenk rupp AG which combined the resources of Thyssen and Krupp—both steel makers and weapon producers in the 1930s that became controversial at that time for helping Germany become a conqueror of nations—wants to design factories, power plants, heavy machineries, infrastructure and elevators for Philippine companies. “There are a lot of opportunities which we see in the Philippines where we can support and help and being a partner for Philippine industries. This is the reason why we are here,” says Jan Lueder, chief executive of thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd. Af ter sur viving the war,
thyssenkrupp embarked on diversification and expansion globally. Today, it is an industrial behemoth, with 670 member companies producing products from tinplates to submarines, employing over 155,000 people globally and generating annual sales of nearly 40 billion euros. The group, based in Duisburg and Essen, does not only produce engines and machines. It builds the factories and production facilities that manufacture those engines and machines. Kevin Chui, country head of thyssenkrupp Philippines, says the group has been in the Philippines for more than a century, having delivered steel, engines, turbines, machineries, ships, power plants and even infrastructure to
private companies and the government. “We first came here in 1903 and we were providing rail, train, trucks and small engines to a small local company called Manila Electric Railroad and Light Company. This became Meralco which is now one of the biggest and most successful companies in the Philippines,” Chui says. The company also built ships for the Philippines in the 1930s to 1940s—Don Esteban and Don Isidro. “These ships played pivotal role during World War 2 where they transported Filipino officials including the vice president to safety during the Japanese invasion,” says Chui. He says the German group supplied machinery and equipment for oil mills and cement plants and materials for mines, plantations and dams in the 1950s to 1960s. It opened a regional office in Manila in 1995, supplied key components for two complete cement clinker production lines
in 1997, built a polypropylene plant in Bataan in 1998, built passenger bridges at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in 2000 and supplied coal handling equipment and delivered boilers to a power company in 2015. “We also built the biggest cement producing plant in the Philippines,” says Lueder, referring to the Teresa cement plant now owned by CRH and Aboitiz. Thyssenkrupp also built the Apo cement plant. Uhde Inc., a unit of t h y s s e n k r u p p, p u t u p a polypropylene or plastics plant in Mariveles, Bataan for Petron Corp. in 1998. “ These are all large companies in the Philippines,” says Chui, referring to local clients. The group generates annual sales of 5 billion euros in Asia Pacific, including 32.5 million euros in the Philippines. Vivek Bhatia, chief executive for Asia Pacific of thyssenkrupp Singapore Pte. Ltd., says the Turn to C2
CEBU PACIFIC COLLECTS DONATION FOR SICK CHILDREN LOW-COST airline Cebu Pacific strengthens its partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund to reach millions of undernourished children in the country. The endeavor is a part of the global organization’s Change for Good program which acceptscontributionsfrompassengers on board flights of partner airlines. Proceeds contribute to the UN children’s agency’s First 1,000 Days campaign which provides optimal nutrition, from a mother’s pregnancy to a child’s second year of life. Since July 1, 2016, Cebu Pacific began accepting contributions of all currencies from passengers. The contributions are being used to fund nutritional
supplements distributed to poor households with pregnant mothers or malnourished children. A portion of the funds also support barangaylevel information drives on nutrition in Unicef’s focus areas in Northern Samar, Zamboanga and Maguindanao. “We are very pleased with how warmly our passengers are receiving the Change for Good Program. Thank you for sharing in our vision of a better future for our children and in Unicef’s advocacy of uplifting lives through the First 1,000 Days campaign,” says Cebu Pacific president and chief executive Lance Gokongwei. “Children have the right to survive and
thrive. It is important for all of us to pitch in and lift each other up, so that every Filipino child grows up happy and healthy. Your continued support to UNICEF will help make this happen,”says Unicef Philippines representative Lotta Sylwander. Sylwander explains the transformative impact of these small acts of generosity. “The nutrition received by children from the womb to their second birthday is crucial for their physical and intellectual development. If these children are able to grow to their full extent, they perform better in school and eventually get better jobs as adults.” A healthy and productive workforce, Sylwander says, is key to nationbuilding.
PINOY FOOD IS NEXT BIG THING, AGAIN HAVE you heard that Filipino food is a big trend this year? Undoubtedly you have. I’ve said it. Likewise, it made trend lists last year. And the year before. If you compared specific Asian cuisines to stocks, Korean food might be Google, a solid, upward ticking buy. Filipino food would be more like an oil stock—a bumpy ride. Yet, 2017 seems poised to be the year you can bet on Filipino food. Google searches for “filipino food” have doubled since 2012, while queries for “lumpia near me” (referring to the crunchy Filipino-style spring rolls) have skyrocketed 3,350 percent. The time for Filipino food to take center stage is finally here, all my food trend instincts tell me. I have a list of compelling reasons. For one, a marquee restaurant has broken big. Bad Saint, the 24-seat Washington spot that specializes in thrilling dishes such as braised goat with charred coconut and chiles was the major restaurant story of 2016, landing No. 2 on Bon Appétit’s annual America’s Best New Restaurant list. It’s become a high-profile showcase for Filipino cooking, giving it a sexiness that merits lining up for hours. Meanwhile, chef Alvin Cailan, founder of California (now Vegas, too) egg sandwich phenomenon Eggslut, is taking on the mantle of Filipino food champion, launching a passionate campaign after experimenting with his Amboy concept last year. He’s designed an “I <3 Filipino Food” logo for his 2017 endeavors as he searches for a permanent location. “My goal is to get enough exposure for Filipino food so that it’s the answer to the question, ‘What should we have for dinner tonight?’” said Cailan. “I saw an article that said Filipino restaurateurs are afraid to enter higher-rent markets because they don’t have confidence in the cuisine. I’d like to show that Filipino food can be accessible to any demographic.” Cailan has some help on the East Coast from fellow FilipinoAmerican chef Dale Talde. His recently opened Talde Miami serves such standout dishes as roasted branzino with tomato turmeric jam and chiles. Come spring, he’ll introduce Rice & Gold in New York’s 50 Bowery Hotel. The menu will have a serious Filipino component, including the rice and chicken soup, arroz caldo. “You braise chicken like any Jewish grandmother, add rice to thicken it up, hit it with a lot of garlic and a ton of ginger and scallions. I add fish sauce and turmeric,” Talde said. “It’s the congee of the Philippines.” A crave-able dish like that, labeled as a Filipino specialty by such a notable cook, is another thing that will help raise the cuisine’s profile. Compare this to Korean food, which has identifiable hallmarks such as kimchee, which has become a national obsession, and roast pork bo ssam, which is popular whether or not you’ve been out drinking all night. Meanwhile Filipino food is best known for balut, a fertilized duck egg that sounds freaky to most Americans. Tastier-sounding dishes such as pork adobo (stewed with soy, garlic, and bay leaf) and those deep-fried lumpia are not yet ubiquitous, even if they should be. The cuisine also utilizes lots of vinegar, lots of frying, and lots of funky flavors—all in sync with America’s expanding palate. Which raises the question: Why haven’t packed New York Filipino spots Jeepney and Pig & Khao spawned copycats the way the Korean-inspired Momofuku empire has? For one thing, Filipino is the original fusion food, a mix of Malaysian, Chinese, and Spanish, with some Indian and American influences. It all makes Filipino food hard to pin down. If a cuisine is so far-ranging and reminds you of other foods, it’s harder to get passionate enough to seek it out. And even among Filipinos, there are variations in the approach, with Chinese Filipino, Spanish Filipino, and so on. There isn’t necessarily a definitive recipe for a classic, as for such a dish as Italy’s cacio e pepe.
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