Philippines

The Philippines has two characteristics that separate it from every other market in Southeast Asia, and both are specification issues rather than commercial ones. The grid runs at 60 Hz, not 50, which affects every motor, pump and generator we supply. And the country is struck by around twenty tropical cyclones a year, more than anywhere else on earth, which affects how equipment is anchored, enclosed, protected and insured. EMM builds both into the quotation. Cargo lands at Manila, Subic, Batangas, Cebu or Davao.

Food, electronics, mining, construction

Food and beverage manufacturing for a population of over 115 million is the largest industrial sector: flour milling, bakery and biscuit lines, noodle plant, canning and retort, beverage filling and bottling, dairy, and extensive cold chain. Coconut processing is a national speciality and a significant export - desiccating, coconut oil milling, coir, water and milk processing, and activated carbon from shell. Electronics assembly in the Calabarzon and Cebu economic zones buys automation, handling, cleanroom and test equipment. Mining, particularly nickel laterite in Palawan and Surigao, takes crushing, screening, washing, conveying, slurry pumps and dewatering. Fisheries and aquaculture buy ice, freezing and processing plant. Construction is persistently strong, both new build and post-typhoon rebuilding, taking batching plants, block and paver machines, crushing and compaction equipment. Sugar milling in Negros and tuna processing in General Santos are regional industries of real scale.

60 Hz, typhoons, and the PS mark

Regulated products need an Import Commodity Clearance or the PS mark from the Bureau of Philippine Standards, which we arrange where it applies. The standard is 230 V single phase, 400 V three phase and 60 Hz, with American-pattern outlets - an unusual combination that catches suppliers out. We specify cyclone-rated anchoring, sealed enclosures and corrosion protection for coastal sites, and we recommend holding critical spares locally through the storm season.

Confirm 60 Hz with your enquiry. It is the single most common error on equipment arriving here.