American developer and manufacturer of printing solutions, Lexmark, recently completed its research and development facility at the Cebu Business Park which houses its state-of-the-art multi-million dollar technical facilities.
In a press conference held recently, Lexmark president and chief executive officer Stan Combs said that their expansion in Cebu was the result of their company’s satisfaction over the “kind of work” that their employees have done throughout the start of their operations in the Philippines.
Lexmark International Philippines, Inc. was started in 1999 with the establishment of an inkjet cartridge assembly plant at the Mactan Export Processing Zone II (MEPZ 2).
Their new investments in the Cebu Business Park will be composed of two new facilities: Lexmark Plaza 1, a 23-floor facility which is still under construction and will be completed by the end of this year and Lexmark Plaza 2 which houses its research and development center.
“We consider our investments carefully and we have seen enough successes in our Cebu operations so we felt very good about these major investments,” said Combs.
The newly completed Lexmark Plaza 2 said the general manager of Lexmark’s hardware development Chris Burdette will enable their Cebu operations to conduct full product development as it contains the “most advanced” technical facilities for product development, printer software development, embedded code and networks, packaging and system test.
These advanced facilities include an acoustic lab that performs extensive testing to meet the standard noise level of their products to become competitive in the world market as most countries have become stringent to product noises. There is also a packaging laboratory, temperature and humidity chambers, and the first EMC (electromagnetic capability) chamber in the Philippines. All these facilities will perform different tests that will ensure that their products conform to international standards.
Burdette added that Lexmark Research and Development Center Cebu will be the base of Lexmark's R&D operations in the Asia-Pacific region and it will specialize in software development for printer drivers and network adapters and in rebranding of Lexmark printers for original equipment manufacturer partners worldwide.
“This is the most advance technology center in the Philippines and even in some parts of the world. It’s a full development process-capable building where we can develop products from start to finish,” added Burdette.
There are several reasons cited as to why Lexmark opted to establish a major commitment in Cebu by putting up their second biggest research and development laboratory next to their main office in Lexington, Kentucky.
Combs said that these are due to the city’s strategic positioning being the center of the country which will enable an easy access from all areas in the Asia-Pacific region where they have business partners such as China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.
Since Cebu has several universities with a good education system, another core reason is the “skilled, talented, trainable and degree-qualified” Filipino workforce. Also a factor is that “English is the second language in the Philippines,” making it easy for an American company like Lexmark to communicate with its Filipino workforce. And Combs also stressed that the Philippine government has a “pro-business investment climate.”
“We found the Philippines and Cebu to fit with all the desired qualities for investment so we have invested heavily on facilities and people and this is our major commitment to Cebu and the Philippines as a location of our operation,” he pointed out. —Rhia de Pablo