Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the SBMA management has recently green-lighted the operation of Mask Secure King Inc. (MSK) to help increase the country’s production capacity for PPEs and other medical consumables.

Mask Secure King Inc., which is under the umbrella of Taiwanese construction and engineering giant MSK Group Work Inc., will set up a manufacturing facility here at the Subic Bay Gateway Park II where it has leased a 1,860-square meter building space from the Taiwanese real estate developer Xantheng Subic International Corp.

Eisma said the MSK has committed US$500,000 for the manufacturing project and will employ 35 workers during its first year of operation.

The firm, which will do business under the trade name “Secure Masks and Protective Gears, will be the first Subic-registered company to engage in the manufacture of health and safety products and personal protective gears.

According to the SBMA Business and Investment Department for Manufacturing and Maritime (BID-MM), the Subic agency approved MSK’s proposal early this month after it filed for a Certificate of Registration and Tax Exemption (CRTE).

The firm’s registered business activity focused on the manufacture of medical devices, medical tools and equipment, medical consumable products, and personal protective gears and equipment.

Among the PPEs MSK will produce are medical disposable masks, gloves, foot and eye protection devices, protective hearing devices like earplugs and muffs, hard hats, respirators, and full body suits.

BID-MM manager Karen Magno said the SBMA has already endorsed to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) the purchase by MSK of mask machines from Taiwan, as well as the importation of non-woven mask materials for its Subic manufacturing operations.

Another firm, which had since relocated to Bataan, previously produced in Subic only hospital textiles and garments.

Eisma said the operation of MSK will boost local production of N95 medical masks, PPE coveralls, as well as ventilators which had no known local producer prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the same time, she said it will bolster the growing confidence of Taiwanese manufacturers in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and further enlarge MSK’s development footprint here. 

The SBMA chief noted that the MSK Group had begun a P2-billion luxury residential project here in 2017 while Xantheng followed it up with a P15-billion green industrial park development project last year.

“Taiwanese investors, particularly the MSK Group, have been thriving here and continuously supporting and contributing to the development of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. This manufacturing project by MSK will be another welcome addition to our list of timely business projects here in Subic,” Eisma added.

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YPC President Yuki Yokoi said his firm is only producing at about 20 percent of the total maximum capacity. The company can produce up to 10 million face masks under a full capacity with 300 workers.

“We are hopeful that once the Enhanced Community Quarantine is lifted on April 14, we can produce more face masks,” Yokoi said.

Yokoi in his meeting with Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) officials said the manufactured facemasks will be distributed to various Philippine hospitals and other pharmaceutical firms to supply the demand and help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Currently, YPC has about 100 regular employees and was assured by DTI that additional manpower will be supplied in the coming weeks to reach the full production of facemasks every month. About 50 workers have already been reporting for work.

Yokoi also thanked the Clark Development Corporation (CDC) and the Philippine government for the opportunity to produce the much needed facemasks to help save more lives. CDC has provided transportation for the essential workers of YPC.

“Our company would like to help our frontliners by providing them quality face masks that will be made inside Clark,” Yokoi said. (PIA 3)