US engineering firm sets up office in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - Chicago-based Ambitech Engineering Corp. has set up office in the country in preparation for expansion to Asia.

Ambitech is a private full-service engineering firm with nine offices in the United States and one in Russia. It recently set up offices in Manila and Mumbai in India.

The company offers plant design services across a wide range of industries beginning from the conceptual stage to construction.

The company’s presence in the Philippines, which would be known as Ambitech Asia, will serve as its gateway for expansion in the Southeast Asian region and to neighboring Asian countries.

“The whole region is on the uptick. We are at the right place at the right time,” said Ambitech Asia executive director Allan Koenig in a briefing late Wednesday.

“From a company standpoint, business in the US has leveled so we are looking at emerging markets like China, Southeast Asia and India.

To stay as a technology company, we have to do this and if we don’t within the next five years or so, we will regret it.”

Koenig said Ambitech Asia is setting up office in Ortigas center with an initial 100 employeeswhich could be increased to as much as 1,000.

“We are looking at the Philippines as a gateway. From here we may have smaller branch offices in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia, and South Korea.

Ambitech Asia general manager Mark Sandoval said the firm is engaging local manufacturers of food and beverages, petrochemicals, as well as oil and gas.

Credit rating agencies have noted that the Philippines is among the fast-growing economies in the Southeast Asian region along with Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Philippines posted a robust economic growth of 7.5 percent in  the second quarter of the year against 6.3 percent in the comparative period last year, boosting the first semester growth to 7.6 percent from 6.4 percent in the first half of 2012.

The country’s growth in the second quarter matched China’s.

The services sector remained the main driver of the economy supported by the manufacturing and construction sectors.

The third quarter growth figures are expected to be released this month.

Full-year growth is expected to breach the government’s six-to seven-percent growth target.