FUJIFILM opens PHL factory to meet global demand for digital camera lens

FUJIFILM Optics Philippines Inc., a subsidiary of Japan's FUJIFILM Corporation, on Tuesday said its new factory in Calamba, Laguna will serve as core production facility to meet the global demand for digital camera lens.

 

Output from the Carmelray Industrial Park facility will increase to 18 million lenses by 2015 to cover global demand for digital cameras, projectors and surveillance cameras, said FUJIFILM Holdings Corp. and FUJIFILM Corp. president and COO Shigehiro Nakajima at the formal opening of its Philippine factory.

 

"We feel the demand for optic lenses, that's why we considered expanding our operations," Nakajima said in a press briefing before the factory's launch, noting the Philippines as one of the "strategic locations" for the company.
 

"Right now, we're in the process of constructing a FujiXerox factory in Vietnam. We have several factories operating in China. These are the strategic locations we have operations in," Nakajima said.

 

During the briefing, Nakajima announced that FUJIFILM Optics Philippines started its full-scale mass operation on Tuesday, July 16.

 

The company targets to increase production to 12 million lenses by fiscal year 2014, and 18 million lenses by 2015 from 2 million lenses this year, said Akinori Harada, FUJIFILM Optics Philippines president.

 

"Lens products will be distributed to PEZA-registered companies and locators and exported to China and Japan," Nakajima noted.

 

"In the future, we also plan to distribute to ASEAN countries as well," he added.

 

FUJIFILM Corporation invested ¥2.3 billion or approximately P990 million to establish FUJIFILM Optics Philippines on June 29, 2012.

 

Construction of the the factory in its 5.3-hectare land in Carmelray Industrial Park started last November and was actually operating as an integrated production facility that include the delicate manufacturing processes of lens polishing, coating and assembly since May 2013

 

While the plant now employs 100 workers, the company plans to expand its workforce to 300 in 2014 and 600 by 2015.

 

Considering that the the lens factory occupies less than a hectare of its factory, FUJIFILM intends to expand its Philippine operations.

 

"We are considering to put up a factory that can produce locally packaged [products] such as digital cameras," Nakajima said. — VS, GMA News