ALL SMILES. Honorary Consul Torsten Griess-Nega (center) joins DTI-Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) OIC-Division Chief Katrina Pineda (left) and Philippine Trade Investment Center-Berlin Commercial Attache Althea Karen Antonio for a photo after discussing the trade and investment potential of the Philippine automotive market.

To further support its burgeoning automotive industry, the Philippines has embarked on expanding its automotive exports as it participated in the Automechanika Frankfurt, the world’s biggest automotive aftermarket event, which was held from September 11 to 15, 2018 at the Messe Frankfurt in Frankfurt, Germany.

Led by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the delegation was supported by the DTI’s Export Marketing Bureau (EMB), Philippine Trade Investment Center (PTIC) in Berlin, Foreign
Trade Services Corps (FTSC), the Office of Senator Loren Legarda, as well as business support organizations (BSOs) and other private partners.

Automechanika is the world’s leading trade fair for the automotive aftermarket industry organized by the world’s largest trade fair organizer Messe Frankfurt Group. This year, almost 5,000 exhibitors and more than 130,000 visitors from all over the world participated in
this biennial event.

After 22 years, the country’s delegation returned to the trade fair under the banner “Partner Philippines,” carrying the country’s strategic advantages and new trade opportunities in the global automotive value chain.

“Automechanika served as the perfect platform in presenting the Philippines’ strategic advantages and industry capabilities to further cement the country’s status as a fast-rising automotive manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia,” said DTI-CITEM Executive Director Pauline Suaco-Juan.

“The delegation also promoted Philippine companies that have a strong export potential to buyers and investors who visited the Partner Philippines pavilion,” she added.

During the Automechanika, more than 100 buyers and investors expressed interest in working with the Philippines. According to the CITEM, buyers’ often look for manufacturers of car seat, automotive electronics, and supplier of water pumps and batteries. Some also look for available investment packages concerning a development of a distribution center or manufacturing facility in the Philippines, which will service the Southeast Asian market.

Extending the benefits of joining the trade fair, the country also endorsed some Philippine-based companies like the Integrated Micro-electronics, Inc. (IMI), URATEX-Bus Seats, Roberts Automotive and Industrial Parts Manufacturing Corporation, Tri-R Allied Industries Inc., JTEKT Philippines Corporation, Tsukiden, BF Metal and P & R Parts & Machineries, Inc.

CITEM and PTIC-Berlin representatives meanwhile attended business-matching activities organized by the Europe Enterprise Network (EEN) and the German Chamber of Commerce (IHK) Automotive-Cluster Rhein, Main, Neckar.

Philippine representatives brief an interested buyer at the Partner Philippines pavilion during the trade fair.

Suaco-Juan also noted that the country’s strength in the automotive industry lies in the production of electronic components.

“Participation in trade fairs like Automechanika is a much-needed boost to globalize our local industry manufacturers and help streamline the transformation of the Philippine industrial sector by capitalizing on our market edge,” she said.

While around two-thirds of the Philippines’ US$3.98 billion exports in 2014 belonged to the said categories, six of the country’s 10 largest exporters were also wire harness companies.

Wire harness, which directs the flow of current and electronic signals throughout the vehicle, is important in the increase of production of vehicle electronic parts.

Exports of wire harnesses also increased by 129 percent from 2007 to 2014, making the Philippines the world’s fourth largest exporter of wire harnesses in those years. On the other hand, the second largest export category consists of wheel and tire assemblies, drive trains,
and vibration controls. Gearboxes or transmissions, the third largest export category, has also been demonstrating consistent growth through four companies that are actively producing it.

Suaco-Juan also shared that an upcoming major trade fair in Germany awaits exhibitors next month. “Electronica,” which has been operating for more than 50 years, will be held at the Messe München Trade Fair Center, Munich, Germany from November 13 to 16, 2018.

“For our next step, we look to aggressively capitalize on our strength in manufacturing electronic parts and wiring harnesses as we make our headway in another major fair in Germany, which is Electronica,” Suaco-Juan added.

Electronica has become the world’s leading international trade fair for electronic components, systems, applications and other innovative solutions, such as smart homes and electronic cars.

During its 2016 edition, a total of 2,912 exhibitors from more than 50 countries networked with almost 74,000 visitors and dialogued with professionals from around the world.

Aside from interested companies that produce or service semiconductors and other electronic components, the DTI-CITEM also welcomes manufacturers of electronic data processing equipment, office equipment, telecommunications, consumer electronics, communications
and radar, control and instrumentation, medical and industrial, automotive electronics, and solar/photovoltaics, who wish to join Electronica.

Interested participants may contact Giselle Erese at 831-2201 loc. 322 or via e-mail at gaerese@citem.com.ph. ♦

Date of Release: 8 October 2018