Trust International Paper Corporation

Address: TECO Industrial park in Bundagul,

Mabalacat, Pampanga
Date Visited: February 1, 2016
INTRODUCTION
A Mission
Our primary purpose is to produce quality paper products that meet stringent
customers' requirements. To this end, shareholders, management and employees are
committed to:
Operate efficiently and profitably, continuously seeking ways to improve the
quality of work processes and cost-competitiveness of our products;
Deliver the products to customers on time, with consistent quality and within
stated specifications;
Provide a safe, clean and wholesome workplace that is conducive to productivity
and the continuous growth and development of its people;
Deal with our business partners with integrity, transparency and fairness;
Uphold our corporate responsibility to the environment and the communities in
which we operate.
B Vision
TIPCO is a world-class manufacturer of paper products that meet international
quality standards and satisfy customers' specifications, by utilizing 100% recycled raw
materials, employing competent and efficient workforce and adopting cost-effective,
safe and environment-friendly operating processes.
C Company Profile
1

Trust International Paper Corporation (TIPCO) is a major player in the paper

manufacturing industry in the Philippines.

A multi-billion peso company, TIPCO is

equipped with technologically advanced paper machines, de-inking plants and

environmental management facilities.

TIPCO

is

INTERNATIONAL

TRUST
PAPER

CORPORATION. Its name is the

embodiment of the ideals and
working philosophy guiding the
Company's business conduct. The
name reflects the foundation on
which

the

working

relationship

between the Company and those it

is dealing with is built - TRUST.
In 1995, with the vision of achieving global competitiveness, TIPCO ventured into
a third paper machine (PM3) acquiring a J-Former machine from Avenor, Canada with a
capacity to 350 metric tons per day. The J-Former, a twin-wire paper machine, was the
first of its kind installed in the country. Compared to the usual less efficient conventional
fourdrinier type, the machine has advanced J-formation and sheet stability, the qualities
required for copy paper, 4-color printing and high-speed printing. PM3 was officially
declared on commercial operations in January 1998.
TIPCO adopts the latest in paper making technology using the first twin-wire
newsprint paper machine in the country.
TIPCO's reputation for product excellence is anchored on its goal to continuously
increase its production capacity and efficiency through investments not only in the
production facility but also in the maintenance facilities. Its Computerized Numeric
Control (CNC) Roll Grinder is another first of its kind in the Philippines.
2

MANUFACTURING PROCESS
TIPCO uses 100% recycled paper to manufacture high quality paper.
Our Raw Materials Warehouse Department processes imported and locally sourced recovered
paper by sorting, conveying them into pulpers and converting them into fibrous, cellulose mass.
The Deinking Plant takes over to clean, screen, de-ink and wash out all contaminants from the
paper stock. At this stage, production process aims to come up with the cleanest and best
consistency stock.
The Paper Machine Department converts cleaned pulp into finished sheets through forming,
pressing, drying, calendering and winding processes. The end result is high quality finished
paper that is prepared for wrapping and shipping out to customers.
The Logistics Department handles all finished goods for careful piling, storage and loading into
trucks for delivery to local and offshore clients.
In all stages of the production process, TIPCO employees are committed to ensuring that only
high grade, top quality paper products reach the customers on time.

PRODUCTS AND BY PRODUCTS

TIPCO uses 100% recycled paper to manufacture high quality paper. The
plant processes imported and locally sourced recovered paper by sorting, conveying
them into pulpers and converting them into fibrous, cellulose mass. The newsprint and
brown paper products are of standard quality designed to meet the stringent demands
of our printing and publishing clients. TIPCO now also produces brown paper to meet
the packaging needs of its clients.

QUALITY CONTROL

TIPCO Management Systems - Making Quality a Way of Life

A globally competitive company with ISO 9001 Certified Quality Management System, TIPCO
ensures quality paper and service every step of the way - from the receipt of raw materials to
finishing until delivery and after-sales service.
TIPCO's ultimate concern is improving paper quality and at the same time providing its
customers cost-competitive products. This requires regular sampling and testing of paper
5

products as well as continuous upgrading of systems to ensure all outputs meet the highest
standards of quality.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY ASPECT

Cognizant of its stewardship role in preserving the country's natural resources, TIPCO uses
100% secondary fiber and state-of-the-art environmental management facilities to ensure
compliance to all applicable environmental laws and regulations.
Its ISO 14001 Certified Environmental Management System guides all efforts toward the
transformation of process by-products into treated, recycled, safe and reusable forms.
In recognition of its commendable environment management performance, TIPCO was awarded
the Gold Rating by the Environmental Management Bureau of the Philippine Government's
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Aside from the local recognition of the companys environmental commitment, TIPCO is also
hailed as the first Philippine company found compliant to manufacture products that are FSC and
PEFC certified. The certifications from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Program for the
Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) assure our clients that our products are
environment-friendly and are produced in ways that conserve the Earths resources so that future
generations can continue to enjoy the bounty of our forests.

Also, as a responsible member of the

community, TIPCO takes to heart its corporate
social

responsibility

programs

geared

by
toward

initiating

various

preserving

the

environment and touching base with the

people in the neighboring barangays and other
localities.
Employee volunteers take part in CSR programs such as tree planting, river
clean-ups, Adopt a River drives, nutrition and feeding campaigns, school painting
activities, donation drives, medical missions, and livelihood teaching sessions to
promote the Companys goal of strengthening and sustaining partnerships with the local
communities.

ROLE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEER

Chemical Engineers monitors each department. They also design new
procedures and researches on chemicals that will improve plant efficiency. They are
also present in Quality Assurance department where they conduct laboratory tests to
see if the products to be transported are of standard specification.

OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The first thing I observed as we enter TIPCO is that they provide civic amenities
such as accommodation and recreation in the vicinity of the plant for their workers which
are not seen from other companies. Their employees has also good attitude towards
works since some of them is already done on their shift but decided to stay to make the
lecture.
The plant employs a product layout type of manufacturing plant layout. Various
operations on a product are performed in a sequence and the machines are placed
along the product flow line.
The plant also employs both manual and automated operation. They have
separate control room for deinking plant and paper machine department. The Deinking
Plant takes over to clean, screen, de-ink and wash out all contaminants from the paper
stock. At this stage, production process aims to come up with the cleanest and best
consistency stock. The Paper Machine Department converts cleaned pulp into finished
sheets through forming, pressing, drying, calendering and winding processes. The end
result is high quality finished paper that is prepared for wrapping and shipping out to
customers. The Logistics Department handles all finished goods for careful piling,
storage and loading into trucks for delivery to local and offshore clients.
They use more of transmission barrier for their safety control mainly engineering
and management control. For the engineering control they installed barriers and safety
lanes for operators and personnel and personal protective equipment for the
management control. They are required wear ear muffs as imposed by the plant
administration.
The management did not required us to use hard hat as tour the plant as part of
safety precaution they should require their visitors to wear it before touring the whole
plant.
Since the plant uses a product layout one of its disadvantage is it creates dull
and repetitive jobs, to avoid this I recommend that the workers should be trained on
8

every part of the operation and not

focus on just one part. It will not
also be a problem in case the
operator on one machine is absent since anyone can now attend to it.
Proper sanitation is also a must, the plant should be clean to be safer.
Central Azucarera de Tarlac
Address: Barrio San Miguel, Tarlac City
Date Visited: February 3, 2016
INTRODUCTION
A Mission
Bringing

peace

and

prosperity

to

the

countryside

Connecting Farmers to the rest of the world while connecting the world to our Farmers
One Farmer, One Hectare One Community at a time.
B Vision
To go beyond sugar, food, renewable and land development for peace and
progress
C Company Profile
Central

Azucarera

de

Tarlac was incorporated in 1927

and

renewed

operates

in

sugar

1976.
mill

It
and

refinery, distillery and carbon

dioxide plants in Barrio San
Miguel, Tarlac City. The sugar
cane milled is sourced within
the Tarlac district and nearby
towns of Pampanga.
Central Azucarera de Tarlac traces its roots from a tobacco plantation, its lands
awarded to the Compaa General de Tabacos de Filipinas under royal grant from the
Spanish throne during the Spanish occupation. The Tabacalera, as the company was
9

more popularly known, concentrated its operations in Manila when the tobacco
monopoly was abolished in 1881. The company's governing body sent Seor Lope
Gisbert to find fertile areas for development and he recommended the land surrounding
the railroad that extended from Manila to Dagupan. This land was acquired in 1907 after
a long and tedious process. It was registered as Hacienda Luisita, after Doa Luisa, the
wife of the founder of the Tabacalera.
Jos Cojuanco, Sr. (father of former president Corazn Aquino) led a group of
Filipino investors in the negotiations for the purchase of both Hacienda Luisita and
Central Azucarera de Tarlac from the original Spanish owners in 1957, and Cojuanco,
Sr. succeeded on 9 April 1958. The company that this purchase bore is known as Jos
Cojuanco & Sons Organisations, and it expanded the Azucarera's products to include
molasses, liquid carbon dioxide and yeast, and its operations to selling sugar to both
domestic and international markets.
PRODUCTS AND BY PRODUCTS
Raw and Refined Sugar
The Companys sugar mill and refinery has a capacity of 7,200 tonnes cane and
8,000 50-kg bags per day respectively. The sugar cane is initially processed to produce
sugar of which 31% represents the companys mill share, 69% belongs to the planters.
Most of the raw sugar produced is further processed in the refinery to produce refined
sugar. For the refining process, tolling fees are collected from customers upon
withdrawal of refined sugar from the Companys warehouse. In addition to raw and
refined sugar, the mill and refinery produces molasses, a by-product. The molasses
produced in the mill is likewise shared between the mill and the planter using the same
sharing ratio while the refinerys molasses production is solely owned by the refinery.
Alcohol
The combined captive molasses of the mill and refinery is processed further in
the distillery to produce alcohol. The distillery has a production capacity of about 65,000
gauge liters per day. The various types of alcohol regularly produced and sold are
10

rectified spirits (purified alcohol), absolute alcohol and denatured alcohol. These alcohol
products are sold to various reputable distillers of wine, manufacturers of alcoholic
beverages and the small portion goes to producers of pharmaceutical products.
Carbon Dioxide
The slops from the distillery are captured by the carbon dioxide plant to produce
liquid carbon dioxide also in tandem with the distillery. The plant has a capacity of
30,000 kilos per day and normally operates for about 4 to 5 months of the year. Carbon
Dioxide sales account for about 3% of the Companys total revenues in the last three
years. The carbon dioxide produced is usually sold to industrial users.

11

12

13

14

Manufacturing Process
After the cane arrives at the mill yards, it is mechanically unloaded, and
excessive soil and rocks are removed. The cane is cleaned by flooding the
carrier with warm water (in the case of sparse rock and trash clutter) or by
spreading the cane on agitating conveyors that pass through strong jets of
water and combing drums (to remove larger amounts of rocks, trash, and
leaves, etc.). At this point, the cane is clean and ready to be milled.
After being purified, the clear juice undergoes vacuum evaporation to remove
most of the water. In this process, four vacuum-boiling cells are arranged in
series so that each succeeding cell has a higher vacuum. The vapors from
one body can thus boil the juice in the next one, a method called multipleeffect evaporation. Next, the syrupy solution is vacuum-crystallized to form
sugar crystals. The remaining liquid is removed using centrifugaling and
drying, and the sugar is packaged.

15

ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY ASPECT

During milling season they produced 70% to 80% of their own energy
requirements from the steam produced in the boilers that powers the turbines. Boiler
fuel are from bagasse. This reduces their waste and consumption and helps conserve
energy.
During fermentation process the plant uses yeast. The yeast becomes a waste,
they recover it use as an animal feed supplement since it is protein rich. Still employed
even the recovery is expensive because it still helps on the plants waste management.
ROLE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEER
Chemical Engineers first position on the plant is supervisory wherein it is a need
to know the job of your personnel and to implement corrective and disciplinary actions.
They are also needed for the improvement of process flow to improve plant efficiency.

OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Central Azucarera de Tarlac has two seasons, milling and repair. Milling season
start if sugarcane is ready for harvesting which starts on November and lasts for about 5
to 6 months. Repair season is for preventive maintenance.
During milling season they produced 70% to 80% of their own energy
requirements from the steam produced in the boilers that powers the turbines. Boiler
fuel are from bagasse.
The plant uses Product Layout in their production since the machines are
arranged according to the needs of the product and in the same sequence as the
operation are necessary for manufacture.
16

After

seeing

the

whole

process for the production of sugar,

I recommend that they properly
wash the sugarcane sent by the
farmers in order to make the brown sugar cleaner and safer. If they cant have the
equipment to do so they might require the farmers to wash properly the sugarcanes first
before sending it to the plant. By this they may reduce the usage of chemicals that are
used in the production of white sugar.
The smoke coming out of the factory is thick and this is from the boilers. They
already used wet scrubbers to trap dust and ash particles from boilers I recommend that
they might further scrub it until the smoke coming out is before sending it to the
atmosphere.
Since the plant is old it is more of a manually operated plant. I recommend that
they mix it with automation to increase the plant efficiency. Through sensors and manual
operation optimum production will be achieved. Most of the plants now employ semi
automation and it they have better outputs therefore Azucarera can assure that it will do
the same to them.
I also recommend that CAT change their plant layout into Combination type of
layout. Flexibility is a very important factory, so layout should be such which can be
molded according to the requirements of industry, without much investment. If the good
features of all types of layouts are connected, a compromise solution can be obtained
which will be more economical and flexible.

SteelAsia
Address: Ciudad Industria, Barrio Bahay Pari, Meycauayan City, Bulacan
Date Visited: October 22, 2013
INTRODUCTION
17

A Mission
To achieve growth and profitability through the provision of total steel
procurement solutions and excellent customer service.
B Vision
To be a leading international steel distributor recognised for its reliability,
efficiency and commitment to quality.
C Company Profile
SteelAsia is a company borne out of a partnership that started in 1965. Filipino
businessmen Benito Yao and Go Kim Pah (founder of Equitable Bank), joined forces to
put up a rolling mill called Island Metal. The small rebar facility would eventually bloom
into one the worlds largest and most modern rebar manufacturing companies today.
In the late 1980s, under the leadership of successor Benjamin Yao, the company
would embark on an expansion and modernization of its manufacturing capability, as a
platform for helping the Philippine steel industry to become part of the solution. Up until
the mid-1990s, the highly fragmented Philippine steel industry was composed of over 50
small steel bar rolling mills of circa 19th century and early 20th century technology.
Around one out every two steel bars installed in construction are manufactured
by SteelAsia. More than 80% of
the steel bar requirements for land,
air,

sea,

power

and

communications infrastructure are

supplied by SteelAsia.

It is the

preferred supplier of the largest

contractors

and

property

developers in the Philippines.

It is has vertically integrated both upstream and downstream, having the largest
and most modern steel billet making facility and the largest rebar fabrication plant in the
country. Already with 6 plants operating across the archipelago, it is adding two moreamong the worlds largest and most modern steel bar mills, to meet the needs of todays
unprecedented economic growth.
18

PRODUCTS AND BY PRODUCTS

Rebar
Rebar is the common name for cylindrical shaped steel bars with uniformly
spaced protrusions called lugs or deformations. They are hot rolled from semi-finished
steel called billets.
Rebar are the predominantly consumed steel product of the construction industry
and are used specifically for concrete reinforcement. Rebar creates tension in concrete
to help hold it in a compressed state.
Reinforced
buildings,

concrete
bridges,

gives
houses,

infrastructure,
and

other

construction the necessary structural integrity as

required by Philippine law and building codes.

PNS49 Rebar (sizes 10mm to 50mm, lengths 6M to 15M)

o

Grade 415 (ASTM Grade 60) regular and weldable

Grade 275 (ASTM Grade 40) regular and weldable

Grade 230 (ASTM Grade 33) regular and weldable

Cut and Bend

Cut and bend is a value added rebar solution for the optimization and fabrication of
rebar in a factory environment.

Depending on the structural design, rebar are cut and bent to specific
shapes. The practice of working rebar at the construction site results in significant
material wastage, logistic inefficiencies such as double handling, additional site costs,
and most importantly imprecise and unsafe bends and cuts.
19

SteelAsias cut and bend services uses the latest technologies including automated
equipment and rebar management software. Customers benefit from:

Zero wastage on cuts

Elimination of storage and related overheads

Elimination of double handling

Elimination of site related damage

and pilferage

Safer construction site

Simplicity of management

Consistent and precise cuts and bending

Zero damage to bars during bending

Mechanical Couplers
Lapped splices are not always the most economical solution for connecting rebar
in columns and beams. The overlapped rebar represent wasted rebar material and time
consuming rebar fixing. The use of mechanical couplers can create material and time
savings and simplify the management of rebar fixing and installation.
SteelAsia offers mechanical couplers and rebar threading services.
SteelAsia offers Bartec couplers. The Bartec system involves a cold-forging
process to increase its rebar diameter prior to threading. Thread is then mechanically
cut unto the enlarged end of the bar. Through this process, there is no reduction the
rebars cross section area. Couplers can then be physically attached by screwing
directly onto the rebar.

20

ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY ASPECTS

SteelAsia is the first and only company in the Philippine steel industry to be
certified to ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Systems), and the first and only as
well to certified to OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management).
Embedded into every steel bar that SteelAsia delivers are the technological
investments that reduce the environmental impacts, protect the health and safety of the
public and employees of SteelAsia.
SteelAsia mills have zero-wastewater. 100% of the water exiting the operations line
are not drained as effluent but rather channeled into a dedicated waste-water treatment
facility on the premises, and cycled back into operations.
SteelAsia has been on the cutting edge of resource-usage minimization. It has
implemented rainwater-collection, from the roofs of its buildings and roads at its plant
site. Rainwater is increasingly the main source of water for SteelAsia, as in its Davao
plant operations which operates while recycling 80 cu. meters of rainwater every hour.

Air-oil lubrication is a new technology that SteelAsia has implemented. Lubrication is

in a closed system, rather than an external application of lubrication that latter of which
may result in ground contamination from used oil.
SteelAsia uses heat recuperators to recycle energy and save on fuel and use LED
technology to reduce power consumption.
ROLE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEER
Chemical Engineers in SteelAsia are assigned on quality control. They test the
products to ensure that it meets specifications before it will be released to the market.
The specifications they test are yield strength, tensile strength, diameter and length and
of the rebar. They can also be employed as Pollution Control Officer, they ensure the
21

companys operation shall comply with the guidelines and provisions of the basic
environmental regulation. They also make sure that the hazardous waste disposed
offsite are covered by a Permit to Transport.
OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATION
SteelAsia Meycauayan houses 2 roll milling lines called M1 and M2. M1 featured
many pioneering technologies such as 12-meter billet capability, walking-hearth furnace,
in-line rolling train configuration, independent drives, Level-2 automation, quick size
change and more new advances that allowed the Philippine steel industry to leapfrog
into the modern era of efficiency, productivity, conservation and operational health and
safety. M2 is a 100,000 tons per year cross-country rolling mill.
SteelAsia is into energy conservation and employing automatic controls helps
them to achieve their goal.
SteelAsia uses automated furnaces. Through sensors and automation the
optimum fuel-air mixed is achieved, minimizing particulate emissions. This also ensures
optimum burning saving fuel by up to 30% compared to zero-automated furnaces. Hotcharging technology reduces fuel consumption further by another 35% in SteelAsias
mini-mill. The pioneering use of AC motors driven by individual Process Logic Controls
saves on power consumption by more than to 25% and significantly reduces noise
levels.
When we visited the plant, the molding of the rebar went wrong, the metal moved
out of the M1. The event imposed a dangerous situation but it was observed that the
operators and principles responded on a safe manner. The employees are concerned
on the success of the plant.
The plant layout type is a product layout, I recommend that they change it to a
cellular manufacturing layouts since every now and then the operators move from one
station to another the equipments. In cellular manufacturing layout products with similar
requirements are placed into families and manufactured in a cell consisting of
functionally dissimilar machines dedicated to the production of one or more family parts.
Material handling cost will be much reduced if employed and they will increase their
profit for large volume of products are being processed within the cell so the capital

22

expense of buying the equipment to each product is

low.

Lafarge Holcim
Address: Quirino, Bacnotan La Union
Date visited: October 21, 2013
23

INTRODUCTION
A Vision
Holcims vision is to provide foundations for societys future.
B Mission
Holcims mission is to be one of the most admired companies in the Philippines and
in the global Holcim group.
C Company Profile

24

Holcim was founded by Adolf Gygi in 1912 as "Aargauische Portland cement

fabrik Holderbank-Wildegg". It was then known as Holderbank since the original
headquarter was located there. In 1922, it expanded into France and ErnstSchmidheiny,
who took over the leadership, continued it by buying stakes in existing companies. In
the late 1970s and early 1980s, Holderbankwas brought and introduced to more
countries, Latin America, Asia and Spain, for the first time. It continued in Eastern
Europe

and

Russia.

In

2001,

the

company

changed

its

name

from

"HolderbankFinancireGlaris" to Holcim (short for Holderbank ciment/cement. In 2005,

Holcim purchased Aggregate Industries for US$4.1 billion, entering the United Kingdom
for the first time. That year, the company also expanded into India by acquiring a stakes
in The Associated Cement Companies (ACC) and Ambuja Cement Eastern. In 2009,
they acquired Cemex Australia. On 7 April 2014, Lafarge, a French industrial company
specializing in cement, construction aggregates and concrete, and Holcim announced a
merger

project

to

create

LafargeHolcim.

On

10

July

2015, Lafarge and Holcim completed the merger and created LafargeHolcim.On 15 July
2015, the new LafargeHolcim Group was officially launched.Holcim Philippines operates
in 4 major areas.
PRODUCTS AND BY PRODUCTS
LafargeHolcim

produces

cement as its main product. Cement,

a binder, is a substance that sets and
hardens independently, and can bind
other materials together. Its raw
materials are limestone, silica and
pyrite. Through grinding and pyro
processes, it will turn into clinker and
gypsum

and

components

other
are

added

mineral
and

additional mechanical process is set

25

to produce cement. Cement Kiln Dust (CKD) is a byproduct of cement production. CKD
is generated when cement clinker is produced in Holcim cement kilns.
Holcim cement offerings include Holcim Excel and Holcim WallRight for its
bagged products and Holcim Premium and Holcim 4X for its bulk products. Holcim
Excel is premium quality general purpose cement. Holcim WallRight is a masonry
cement for hollow block laying and filling, plastering, and finishing. Holcim 4X is an
ASTM C150 high performance Portland cement specially formulated for ready mix
concrete applications. And Holcim Premium Bulk is an ASTM C 150 high performance
Portland cement specially formulated for general constructions.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENGINEERING ASPECT
Through alternative fuel and raw materials program (AFR) , they are able to
reduce use of fossil fuel as they co-process agricultural and residual waste to derive
thermal energy.
Co-processing program does not hamper waste reduction efforts. Holcim does
not co-process waste if ecologically and economically better ways of recovery are
available.
Our AFR program is guided by strict qualification criteria and lab testing
procedure prior to co-processing and is monitored by regulators.
The impact to emissions is also carefully monitored.
The AFR program provides a sustainable solution to waste management and
helps minimize the country's carbon footprint. Waste such as rice hull which would
normally be burned in the open thus producing CO2, is collected by Holcim and used as
alternative fuel, thereby reducing CO2 emissions.
Currently, Holcim has tied up with the government of Pampanga for the collection
of segregated residual plastics and co-processing in cement plant.

26

ROLE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS

Chemical Engineers plans and monitors the production to ensure it complies to
the product requirements. Some chemical engineers are also involved in clerical works
such as the Human Resource Department to make sure that only qualified engineers
will be employed. Some are also into Quality Assurance, they do not only test the quality
of the products but also the waste if it is still on the acceptable range.
OBSERVATION AND RECOMMENDATION
Concrete and hollow blocks have been increasingly the favourite materials in
residential constructions. Holcim provides product options for needs of construction,
from general purpose cement to specific customer orders such as cements for
architectural designs and construction materials.
Among all the plants we visited, Holcim is the only one that is proximate to its raw
materials, an important actor in choosing location for plant. Through this they already
saved some money and might use it for other factors like delivery of the product to the
customers. Since, cement has low value per unit weight, so transportation over long
distances will be costly and difficult.
The plant layout type is a product layout, this provides easier and efficient work
for the personnel and operators. This is the most appropriate plant layout for them since
there products are standardized and produced in large quantities. They also employ
continuous process. Inspection can be easily and conveniently undertaken under this
method and any defect in production operations can be easily located in production
operations. The need for inspection under this method is much less and can be
confined at some crucial points only.
The plant employs automation. They have invested on a complete set of
Continuous Emissions Monitoring System which monitors gaseous and dust emissions
in real time. To minimize fugitive dust, they maintain bag house filters and electrostatic
precipitators.

27

In terms of safety, hazard

and industrial health and hygiene,
there are lots that are needed to
look into like air pollution and physical hazards. When we visited the plant, an engineer
had his shoes split because of spillage of corrosive chemicals he had passed.
The plants employs dry process which contributes to greater air pollution than the
wet process but is costlier. I recommend that other than using electrostatic precipitators
they further scrub the gas to still lessen the amount that is released to the atmosphere
even it is on the range.
I also recommend that they further research on new process that will help make
the company soar into greater heights without compromising the environment.

Philippine Spring Water Resources Inc.

Address: Cagayan Valley Road, Guiguinto, 3015, Bulacan
Date Visited: October 24, 2013
INTRODUCTION
28

A Mission
The challenge is not be stuck with words, but proceed unto decisive responsible
action, and go beyond our boundaries to accomplish our Vision.
B Vision
To build a strong Brand Equity, with emphasis on consistently providing the Best
Quality products with the Highest Standards of Safety and Purity at very Competitive
Pricing . To be able to understand the consumers needs and extend Service that is
Efficient and Flexible, thereby acquiring a dominant status in the market. To be on the
forefront of Technology Acquisition and Manpower Development to keep up with market
change.
C Company Profile
PHILIPPINE SPRING WATER RESOURCES, INC. (PSWRI), a 100% Filipino
owned and managed company. It is a manufacturer and distributor of NATURE'S
SPRING bottled drinking water products for both local and international markets.
The production and distribution of purified, safe and affordable drinking water was
conceived by its President and Chief Executive Officer in 1991 when the need was so
magnified after super typhoon Ruping (the Philippine name for internationally christened
typhoon Mike) hit Cebu, Philippines sometime in November, 1990. The destruction it
had caused brought unimaginable havoc and paralyzed the whole island. There was no
electrical power which also caused the disruption of the water distribution. The populace
were only relying on unsafe
deep well water sources. This
resulted on an outbreak of
water bound diseases like El
Tor, Cholera, Diarrhea and
Hepatitis A.
The need for a safe
drinking water was an immediate concern. The demand for safe bottled drinking water
29

products was emphasized. Unfortunately, these where not readily available in the
market. There was only a handful local brands and few expensive foreign bottled water.
Stocks were very few and in some cases no supply at all.

PRODUCTS AND BY PRODUCTS

Purified Water
Nature's Spring Drinking Water is purified and processed through the latest stateof-the-art technique, that includes carbon filtration, water softening, reverse osmosis,
microfiltration, and ozonation to guarantee its quality and potability.
DISTILLED DRINKING WATER - Nature's Spring Distilled Drinking Water is a purified
water processed through the use of the latest state-of-the-art technique in water
purification that includes carbon filtration, purification, water softening, reverse osmosis,
distillation, hyperfiltration, and ozonation to ensure its purity.
Alkaline drinking water
Nature's Spring PH 9 Drinking water is a bottled water process through state-ofthe art water treatment technology such as the modern filtration, purification , ozonation
to guarantee its quality and water ionizer machine to produce water higher in ph via the
scientific process of electrolysis.
Bubble water
A purified water and processed through the latest state-of-the-art technique, that
includes carbon filtration, water softening, reverse osmosis, microfiltration, and
ozonation to guarantee its quality and potability. It is packed in the new 300 PET
disposable bottle.
Crystal Tube Ice
A hallow and crystal ice made of purified drinking water. It is sold by 3 kilos per
pack.
NS5G
A purified water and processed through the latest state-of-the-art technique, that
includes carbon filtration, water softening, reverse osmosis, microfiltration, and

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ozonation to guarantee its quality and potability. It is packed in a 5 gal PET refillable
bottle.
Customized Packing
Special packaging using Nature's Spring Bottle and label with customer's logo/brand
name.
Toll Packing
Special packaging using generic bottle with customer's own name or Srand.
Bai Products
A premium distilled drinking water bottled for high end consumers and is packed
in a 500 ml PET bottle.
NATURE'S SPRING FLAVORED WATER available in four flavors, Apple, Grape,
Lemon and Honeydew is also available in the market.
ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY ASPECT
Moreover, to lessen their impact on the environment, Natures Spring uses a
shorter cap in their bottles. This means that the bottles used contain 35% less plastic
than other brands. Their plastic is currently the lightest in Southeast Asia.
ROLE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEER
Chemical Engineers are employed as Process Engineers to evaluate and
improve on processes in manufacturing systems. They also maintain reliable and safe
manufacturing systems while improving production rates, efficiencies, yields, costs and
changeovers. They develop innovative solutions. It is also their responsibility to improve
process capability and production volume while maintaining and improving quality
standards and prepare samples for study.

OBSERVATION AND RECOMMENDATION

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Natures Spring produce their own bottle and their purified water.
Natures Spring produce about 300,000 to 400,000 of bottled water a day.
Raw water is processed and purified using state-of-the-art processing equipments and
technology. Internal PSWRI laboratory tests, and external regular monitoring and
inspection by the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) & the Philippine Bottled Water
Standard proves the company's strict and meticulous eye for quality control & utmost
norms PSWRI passed the very strict standards.
The plant layout type is a product layout wherein the the raw material
is supplied at one end of the line and goes from one operation to the next
quite rapidly with a minimum work in process, storage and material handling.
The raw material in making the bottle of water is resin. Resin is a solid
organic polymer used as the basis of plastics. At first the bottle is like a
plastic test tube. This tube is blown in a blow molding machine; a bottle of
one gallon is blown for about 92 seconds, a bottle of 500-ml is blown for
about eight to nine seconds. These bottles are washed in a machine where in
the wash water contains chemicals to kill germs inside the bottle. After that
these bottles are filled with the purified water; this purified water is earlier
treated and purified in another warehouse. Next unit operation is the putting
of cover. And then labeling comes after; they put the desired label to the
bottled drinking water. Lastly, the packaging, the bottled water is ready to be
delivered in the grocery stores and houses.
The first plant and production facility was put up after a thorough
market research and extensive product conceptualization and development.
The company adopted Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). According to the
brand, the exploitation of the new system resulted in automation, traceability, and
accountability of its operations, which streamlined and increased operational production
efficiency in its product lines.
I recommend that the company will supply their own energy requirements on the
near future using waste to further help on the problem arising from plastic waste.

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