Austrian manufacturing company, Head Sports, is eyeing to start operating and producing tennis balls at either the end of this year or early part of next year in a five-hectare property at the Anflo Industrial Estate (AIE) in Panabo City, Davao del Norte, according to Ricardo “Cary” Floirendo Lagdameo, president of Damosa Land, Inc. (DLI).
AIE is registered Special Economic Zone in Davao del Norte by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). AIE is owned and operated by DLI.
Lagdameo said on Friday that Head Sports, the largest manufacturer of tennis balls in the world, manufactures 40 percent of the world’s demand for tennis balls.
“These tennis balls are used in all of the major tennis, and one of the main athletes that they sponsored is Novak Djokovic. They’re finishing up their facility in AIE and that should be done maybe one to two months. I think they’ll produce by either the end of this year or early part of next year,” Lagdameo said in a business forum held at Hukad, Ayala Malls Abreeza.
Lagdameo said the significant fact is when the factory is fully operational, Head Sports will be closing its China hub.
“In other words, it’s a move from China to the Philippines. It was a proud moment not just for us but for the country because we need more investments like that,” he said.
According to Lagdameo, this facility will be generating a thousand jobs in Davao del Norte and will be exporting all over the world coming out of Davao.
Lagdameo said what attracted Head Sports to Davao was the availability of rubber in Mindanao.
“For Head Sports from what I understand, their main raw material is rubber. Rubber is found in Mindanao. All of the rubber manufacturers in the country source their materials in Mindanao. They wanted to take advantage of the rubber that is available in the country,” he said.
According to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), as of 2021, the top rubber-producing province in the country is Cotabato with over 143 thousand metric tons (MT) of coagulated cup lump produced followed by Zamboanga Sibugay and Basilan with 117,314 MT and 76,433 MT, respectively.
“But what is interesting is that they want to encourage more companies to plant more rubber. Because there’s going to be this demand. They want to help revive the rubber industry which has kind of declined over the last few decades,” Lagdameo said.
He also said that what makes the 63-hectare AIE ideal for Head Sports is, that it is near the Davao International Container Terminal (DICT), a world-class port terminal facility and the no.1 container terminal in Mindanao in terms of foreign container throughput.
“AIE is close to the port which was very important for them. So, after their product is manufactured they can just deliver the goods to a port that is only half a kilometer away and be able to export all over the world,” he said.
Lagdameo said that what made AIE also excited was getting a European company that has European standards.
Meanwhile, Lagdameo also mentioned GMAC Logitech Refrigeration Corporation, a new locator at AIE that is putting up probably the biggest cold storage in Mindanao.
GMAC is a joint venture of two companies: AC Logistics Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ayala Corporation holding a portfolio of logistics companies; and Glacier Magafridge, Incorporated (GMI), one of the largest cold chain storage and logistical services providers in the Philippines.
“It has already started operations and is expanding its facility,” he said.
He said the facility can store up to 12,000 industrial pallets.
Lagdameo added that GMAC is looking at capitalizing on Mindanao as a huge cold storage market.
He also said that the new cold storage facility is eyeing to start operation by the first quarter of 2025.
“AIE is trying to do its part to bring in the investments in Mindanao,” Lagdameo said.
