Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – From its humble beginnings 27 years ago supplying products and services to golf courses in the country, The Turf Company has grown into a one-stop shop that provides total solutions to the management and maintenance of golf courses and sports-themed estates, resorts and recreation facilities, hospitals, commercial landscapes like retail developments, and private and residential projects. Today, it is considered a leading force in the industry with an extensive roster of prestigious clients who have remained loyal to the company through the years. “As we mark our 27th year, we express our appreciation and gratitude to our customers who believe in us and continue to patronize us. The journey of our company has been exciting and fulfilling, to say the least. We have gained milestones in our history, beating the ups and downs of the local market,” said Mario Lopez, president and COO of The Turf Company. “We owe our growth through the dedication and commitment of our team and the support of our principals. They are our valuable partners.” The Turf Company enjoys some of the most established relationships in the industry, including partnerships with world-class brands which it distributes in the country. These include the Toro brand of golf course maintenance equipment and irrigation systems which accounts for about 80 percent of the company’s turf management business. Other flagship brands that The Turf Company proudly distributes are Orec precision mowing equipment, Club Car & Texas Eagle golf cars and allied products. As The Turf Company Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Lopez-led Energy Development Corp. (EDC), is now supplying power to the Central Luzon State University (CLSU), the oldest and largest state university in Region 3, with green energy under the retail competition and open access (RCOA) regime. EDC said it supplies CLSU with up to 2.9 megawatts (MW) of power following a retail supply contract with EDC affiliate First Gen Energy Solutions Inc., a retail electricity supplier (RES). Under the contract, EDC provides CLSU’s 658-hectare campus with green power from its geothermal power station in Bicol, which started on June 26, 2016.  “The entire CLSU campus will benefit from environment-friendly power all year round and not rely on imported and carbon-emitting fossil fuel energy sources or stopgap supply measures that could not guarantee reliable and uninterruptible power,” EDC vice president for corporate affairs Ricky Carandang said.  “In addition, we are committed to provide CLSU with customized energy solutions, fair pricing, competent technical assistance and responsive customer support at all times,” he said. Under the RCOA scheme, contestable customers are given the choice to choose their power supplier, a scheme aimed to foster competition in the generation and supply sector. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 EDC is the country’s leading producer of geothermal energy with total installed capacity of 1,169 MW in Leyte, Negros Islands, Bicol and North Cotabato. It also owns and operates the 150-MW wind farm in Burgos, Ilocos Norte and has 60 percent equity in the 132-MW Pantabangan-Masiway hydropower plants in Nueva Ecija.

MANILA, Philippines – Merchandise trade in the country weakened 6.6 percent in July as exports extended its decline and imports contracted after a four-month upswing, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said yesterday. Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, NEDA said total revenue from trade fell to $11.4 billion last July from $12.2 billion a year earlier due to the 13 percent drop in exports and the 1.7 percent decline in imports. Hit by sluggish demand caused by a still-recovering global economy, revenues from exports fell 13 percent in July to $4.67 billion from $5.37 billion in the same period in 2015. The decrease was attributed to lower outbound shipments of machinery and transport equipment; woodcraft and furniture; other mineral products; chemicals; electronic products; articles of apparel; and clothing accessories; ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircraft and ships; and metal components. Exports have been on the downturn since July 2015. NEDA said Philippine exports were hit by diminished demand from traditional markets such as Japan, China, Hong Kong and US. “However, the outlook for the electronics industry is improving, particularly for semiconductors. We must take advantage of this and beef up the capacity of the electronics industry for production, research and development, and design to enable us to keep up with the imminent increase in demand,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and  NEDA director general Ernesto Pernia. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The value of imports, on the other hand, Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – First Gen Corp. will start commercial operations its 97-megawatt (MW) Avion natural-gas fired power plant in Batangas City after securing a regulatory clearance. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, First Gen said its wholly-owned unit Prime Meridian Powergen Corp. (PMPC) received yesterday the certificate of compliance (COC) issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the Avion power plant. “The certificate on the change of status of the Avion plant to commercial operations is under process with the Philippine Electricity Market Corp., operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM),” the company said. A COC is required before any generating company can start operating a power project. The Avion plant, located within the First Gen Clean Energy Complex in Barangay Bolbok, Batangas City, was supposed to deliver power during the summer months of 2015. However, the project faced delays after IstroenergoGroup (IEG) and its Philippine branch company Energy Project Completion Ltd. (EPC), contractors for turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction, failed to comply with their obligations. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Thus, PMPC terminated the contracts. Slovakian firm IEG was tapped in August 2014 to construct and commission the Avion plant. Since then, the Avion plant has been undergoing commissioning and testing until the COC was issued. The commissioning and testing phase of the power facility helped in boosting First Gen’s first half income this year, which rose 19 percent from $95 million in 2015 to $113 million.

MANILA, Philippines – Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) can now expand with an additional runway after Clark Electric Distribution Corp. (CEDC) was cleared to relocate its substation facility in the area. The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved CEDC’s application for an emergency capital expenditure (capex) project called Development of Roxas 50 MVA, 69 KV-13.8 KV Substation. The project involves the relocation of the Diamante Substation to the Roxas district and the replacement of the old 25 MVA 69 kV-13.8 kV power transformer with a higher capacity 50 MVA, 69 kV-13.8 kv power transformer. In its application, CEDC said the relocation is due primarily to the CIAC’s plan to construct an additional runway that involves the dismantling of the existing Diamante Substation. The ERC also approved the project considering the existing substation is expected to be critically loaded at 100 percent by 2020. “The expansion of a vital piece of infrastructure such as an airport involves the development of industrial, commercial and even residential establishments leading to socio-economic growth and progress. The ERC approved the application of CEDC to enable it to fulfill its mandate of providing reliable service connection to existing and new consumers and ensuring the safe operation of electric facilities”, ERC chairman and CEO Jose Vicente B. Salazar said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The ERC said opportunity to up-rate the power transformer together with the relocation is a wise strategic engineering practice and that would prove advantageous to CEDC and its customers. The Read More …