Business
PH eyes automotive export
expansion, benchmarks at
Automechanika Frankfurt
T
o further support its burgeoning automotive industry, the
Philippines has embarked on expanding its automotive
exports as it participated in the Automechanika Frankfurt,
the world’s biggest automotive aftermarket event, which
was held from September 11 to 15, 2018 at the Messe
Frankfurt in Frankfurt, Germany.
Led by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
through the Center for International Trade Expositions
and Missions (CITEM), the delegation was supported by
the DTI’s Export Marketing Bureau (EMB), Philippine Trade
Investment Center (PTIC) in Berlin, Foreign Trade Services Corps (FTSC), the Office
of Senator Loren Legarda, as well as business support organizations (BSOs) and
other private partners.
Automechanika is the world’s leading trade fair for the automotive aftermarket
industry organized by the world’s largest trade fair organizer Messe Frankfurt
Group. This year, almost 5,000 exhibitors and more than 130,000 visitors from all
over the world participated in this biennial event.
After 22 years, the country’s delegation returned to the trade fair under the
banner “Partner Philippines,” carrying the country’s strategic advantages and new
trade opportunities in the global automotive value chain.
“Automechanika served as the perfect platform in presenting the Philippines’
strategic advantages and industry capabilities to further cement the country’s
status as a fast-rising automotive manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia,” said DTI-
CITEM Executive Director Pauline Suaco-Juan.
“The delegation also promoted Philippine companies that have a strong export
potential to buyers and investors who visited the Partner Philippines pavilion,” she
added.
During the Automechanika, more than 100 buyers and investors expressed
interest in working with the Philippines. According to the CITEM, buyers’ often look
for manufacturers of car seat, automotive electronics, and supplier of water pumps
and batteries. Some also look for available investment packages concerning a
development of a distribution center or manufacturing facility in the Philippines,
Philippine representatives
brief an interested buyer
at the Partner Philippines
pavilion during the trade
fair
ALL SMILES. Honorary Consul
Torsten Griess-Nega (center)
joins DTI-Center for Interna-
tional Trade Expositions and
Missions (CITEM) OIC-Division
Chief Katrina Pineda (left) and
Philippine Trade Investment
Center-Berlin Commer-
cial Attache Althea
Karen Antonio for a
photo after discussing
the trade and invest-
ment potential of the
Philippine automotive
market
which will service the Southeast Asian market.
Extending the benefits of joining the trade fair, the country also endorsed
some Philippine-based companies like the Integrated Micro-electronics, Inc.
(IMI), URATEX-Bus Seats, Roberts Automotive and Industrial Parts Manufacturing
Corporation, Tri-R Allied Industries Inc., JTEKT Philippines Corporation, Tsukiden,
BF Metal and P & R Parts & Machineries, Inc.
CITEM and PTIC-Berlin representatives meanwhile attended business-matching
activities organized by the Europe Enterprise Network (EEN) and the German
Chamber of Commerce (IHK) Automotive-Cluster Rhein, Main, Neckar.
Suaco-Juan also noted that the country’s strength in the automotive industry
lies in the production of electronic components.
“Participation in trade fairs like Automechanika is a much-needed boost to
globalize our local industry manufacturers and help streamline the transformation
of the Philippine industrial sector by capitalizing on our market edge,” she said.
While around two-thirds of the Philippines’ US$3.98 billion exports in 2014
belonged to the said categories, six of the country’s 10 largest exporters were
also wire harness companies. Wire harness, which directs the flow of current
and electronic signals throughout the vehicle, is important in the increase of
production of vehicle electronic parts.
Exports of wire harnesses also increased by 129 percent from 2007 to 2014,
making the Philippines the world’s fourth largest exporter of wire harnesses
in those years. On the other hand, the second largest export category consists
of wheel and tire assemblies, drive trains, and vibration controls. Gearboxes or
transmissions, the third largest export category, has also been demonstrating
consistent growth through four companies that are actively producing it.
Suaco-Juan also shared that an upcoming major trade fair in Germany awaits
exhibitors next month. “Electronica,” which has been operating for more than 50
years, will be held at the Messe München Trade Fair Center, Munich, Germany from
November 13 to 16, 2018.
“For our next step, we look to aggressively capitalize on our strength in
manufacturing electronic parts and wiring harnesses as we make our headway in
another major fair in Germany, which is Electronica,” Suaco-Juan added.
Electronica has become the world’s leading international trade fair for
electronic components, systems, applications and other innovative solutions,
such as smart homes and electronic cars. During its 2016 edition, a total of 2,912
exhibitors from more than 50 countries networked with almost 74,000 visitors and
dialogued with professionals from around the world.
Aside from interested companies that produce or service semiconductors and
other electronic components, the DTI-CITEM also welcomes manufacturers of
electronic data processing equipment, office equipment, telecommunications,
consumer electronics, communications and radar, control and instrumentation,
medical and industrial, automotive electronics, and solar/photovoltaics, who wish
to join Electronica.
www.dti.gov.ph
www.citem.gov.ph
Interested participants may contact Giselle Erese at 831-2201
loc. 322 or via e-mail at [email protected].
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