Lucio Ong

Lucio Ong, chief executive officer of Genpack Corp., said the planned expansion is set to meet the foreseen demand growth for tin cans as tuna industry players bind themselves for a stronger position in the international market.

Genpack started operating here in April although the firm's plant was formally inaugurated just last month.

Ong said the P500-million plant, sitting in an eight-hectare lot in barangay Tambler, boasts of modern equipment that could produce up to 800 metric tons of different can sizes monthly.

He said the company is the only tin-can plant in Mindanao equipped with food-grade coating facility, which is a 20-meter long machine that coats tin sheets with epoxy phenolic, a food-grade coating material crucial to the preservation of canned goods.

Ong added that the technology has passed the standards of the Food and Drug Administration and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

Ong cited this technology as the company's main advantage over its three other competitors operating in the city.

He said the company's facilities are also capable of manufacturing easy-to-open drinking cans being used by the beverage industry.

Ong claimed that 90 percent of the tin cans manufactured by Genpack is used for exports by several tuna canneries here.

He said the firm produces at least three sizes of tin cans.
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The third is the 603 size, which is roughly the size of a half-gallon ice cream container, said Ong.

Ong said that prospects are bright for local tin-can makers owing to the presence of tuna canneries and processing plants in the city.

Of the nine canneries in the country, seven are in the city.Ten of the country's 15 sashimi-processing plants are also found here, making this city the undisputed "Tuna Capital of the Philippines."He said there is a huge demand for tin cans since about 95 percent of local tuna produce is exported in canned form.

Canned tuna found its way mainly to the markets in the United States and the European Union, while fresh tuna is exported to Japan in the past several years.

Ong said they decided to operate in this city with the aim of providing local tuna canneries with cheap but high-quality tin cans.

He noted that locally produced food-grade coated tin sheets would considerably lower the price of food-grade coated tin cans to the benefit of canned tuna producers, referring to the reduced freight and handling costs for such materials compared to those sourced directly from abroad or in Metro Manila.

Lucio Ong, president and chief executive officer of Genpack Corporation, said the firm is the only tin can plant in Mindanao that has food-grade coating facilities.
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Ong said that despite the presence of three other can plants in the city, they have decided to set up business here because of the burgeoning market demand.

He said they also have a competitive edge over the other can plants because of their more efficient machine.

Already, Genpack is negotiating with a giant multinational food company for the coating of tin sheets of the said company.

Ong however declined to name the said firm but said it would be cost-beneficial for the food company if the deal pushes through.

Meanwhile, Ong also revealed that they will be putting up additional P300 capital investment for the expansion of their plant facility in the next twelve months.

GenPack President Lucio Ong welcomed all the guests, friends and officers of both GenPack and RD Corporation.