The Lao family's D&L Industries is preparing for the opening of its P10-billion state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Batangas, which would significantly boost its capacity, by the middle of 2023.

The food ingredients and plastics giant said the new factory would also cut logistics costs and its overall carbon footprint as it focuses on more sustainable manufacturing.

"We believe that it is the next leg of growth for the company. We see the coming decade as transformational for us, both from a business and sustainability perspective," said Dean Lao Jr., president of D&L subsidiary Natura Aeropack Corp.

"It is our advocacy to stay relentless in developing products that better lives while staying attuned to the needs of the planet. We see this as one of the great secrets for a lasting business," he added.

The Batangas plant, which started construction in 2018, will expand the company's capabilities to manufacture food, oleochemicals and its fast-growing consumer products segment.

The project is located in a 26-hectare property in the First Industrial Township-Special Economic Zone in Tanauan, Batangas.

D&L said the facility would bolster its exports business and allow the company to offer a "one-stop shop" manufacturing solution for global brands.

Coconut oil, for example, continues to see an upswing in global demand but exports are currently limited to "low value" products.

"With D&L's vertically-integrated plant in Batangas, the company's goal is to bring home the higher value-added processing of coconut oil, and in the process significantly reduce the total carbon footprint of its entire supply chain," D&L said.

These will include products such as personal and baby care, cosmetics, household cleaning as well as its food and vegetable oil categories that are "sustainable, natural, and organic."

"The company also aims to put the Philippines on the map as a quality manufacturing hub for sustainable, natural and organic products," D&L said.

"There's a lot of interest in the space and consumers are demanding businesses for their fair share of efforts in preserving the only planet that we have," Lao said. —Miguel R. Camus INQ