TALISAY City – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-6 and the Technological University of the Philippines Visayas (TUPV) have forged a partnership for the establishment of a shared service facility (SSF) for metal powder coating, which is the first of its kind in Western Visayas.
The facility, hosted by TUPV at the Luis J. Montinola Resource and Research Center in Barangay Matab-ang here, was put up through the P2-million grant sourced by the DTI from the fund allocation of outgoing Sen. Loren Legarda.
DTI-6 regional director Rebecca Rascon said during the project launching that the facility will primarily benefit members of the Association of Negros Producers (ANP) who, in the past, had to ship their metal-based products to Cebu for powder coating.
“Having to do that, they have to spend more. With this facility, they will have lesser production cost,” she added.
Rascon said the ANP had requested for such facility years before, during her stint as provincial director of DTI-Negros Occidental, and she is glad that the project has finally been realized.
Rascon and TUP president Jesus Rodrigo Torres signed the memorandum of agreement on the SSF project in the presence of Prof. Eric Malo-oy, campus director of TUP Visayas, and DTI-Negros Occidental provincial director Lea Gonzales.
The DTI’s Shared Service Facilities project is a major component of the micro, small, medium enterprise (MSME) development program that seeks to achieve the government’s goal of inclusive growth and job generation. Under the SSF project, MSMEs are provided with machinery, equipment, tools, systems, skills, and knowledge under a shared system.
Malo-oy said that clients can save up to 80 percent in production costs when they avail of the services of the DTI-TUPV powder coating facility.
“Let us continue to help the MSMEs grow and become more competitive in the market through (this) facility. This will ensure the dramatic enhancement of the metal products from Negros Occidental and the region at a much lesser cost, and contribute to the national direction of inclusive economic growth,” he added.
Engr. Ace Zander Antonio, head of TUPV Research, said the SSF managed by the university will improve the learning experience of the students since they will have hands-on experience in the powder coating process.
“The SSF will enhance the collaboration among industries and the academe within the province as it would provide an avenue for cooperation, whether for research or production,” he also said.
ANP chairperson Christina Gaston, who attended the launching activity, said about 25 to 30 of their members who are in the gifts, decors, houseware and furniture sector can directly benefit from the powder coating facility.
“When we shared the information that this facility has opened, we also had inquiries from our food processors and manufacturers who also want powder coating for their interiors and their equipment,” she said. (PNA)
