German engineering firm banks on ‘Build, Build, Build’ to triple revenue in 2018

German engineering firm Thyssenkrupp AG is banking on the government's infrastructure program to raise its Philippine revenue by as much as three times this year.

“Clearly, we see, not too far from now, that we would like to see 50-to-100 million [dollar] range. Right now we are somewhere close to 30. So that’s tripling at least,” Thyssenkrupp chairman of the executive board Heinrich Hiesinger said in a media roundtable in Taguig City.

“Where we have the biggest expectations here in the Philippines is really our industrial solutions business. This is really where we want to grow in service,” he said.

Under the Build, Build, Build program, the government plans to spend over P8 trillion until 2022, largely funded by tax revenue.

This year alone, the Philippines plans to roll out 76 big-ticket projects, cumulatively valued at $35.5 billion or P1.1 trillion.

Hiesinger said the company wants to enter the picture by assisting local cement manufacturers in their expansion plans, specifically scoring engineering, procurement, and construction contracts for new cement plants in the country.

“We will really start where we have our strengths. Probably one of the most booming areas we have right now is cement. We are one of the global players in cement,” he said.

Thyssenkrupp Philippines head Kevin Chui said the company is optimistic about meeting the target as they are gearing up for large-scale projects which would, in turn, generate higher revenue.

“That’s possible, because I think with the cement opportunities and power opportunities, a lot of these projects are larger scale so income ... is not small. One big project will cover that,” he said.

“It goes back to the infrastructure program Build, Build, Build. Every single cement player in the Philippines at the moment is trying to squeeze more out of their equipment,” Chui noted.

Listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Thyssenkrupp has operating footprints across 79 countries with an international employee base of over 158,000.

Its key businesses include components technology, elevator technology, industrial solutions, materials services, and steel. —VDS, GMA News