Message

THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

  My warmest greetings to TSUNEISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES as you mark your 20th year of operations in the Philippines.
  This milestone attests to a success borne of industry, partnership, and resolve. From less than 270 Japanese employees docking on our shores, your company has evolved into an enterprise with a contingent of 13,000-strong Filipinos, all collaborating with the international shipping community to sustain supply chains across the oceans.
  I thank you for the trust you have extended, and continue to extend, to my countrymen; your vessels have fostered their dreams of a more dignified and productive life and helped launched opportunities for your host municipality, Balamban, Cebu, its neighboring communities, and our country too. As this celebration heralds your accomplishments of the past two decades, may you be impassioned as our partner in progress: further espousing growth that is far-reaching, transformative, and centered on the people.
  The global economic spotlight shifts towards Asia and beckons us to further elevate our sectors’ performance. I urge you to join us as we buttress our burgeoning market, clear all barriers to the Filipino’s advancement, and maximize this time of dynamism and promise in the region.
  Congratulations, and I wish you fortitude in the years ahead.

Director General
Philippine Economic Zone Authority
LlLlA B. DE LIMA

  I extend my warmest congratulations to the Officers and Staff of TSUNEISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (CEBU), Inc. on the occasion of its 20th Year Anniversary.
  The country takes pride in hosting one of the world's most successful shipbuilding companies and recognizes the very significant contribution of TSUNEISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (CEBU), Inc. to the development of the global shipbuilding industry as well as catapulting the Philippines as the fourth biggest shipbuilder in the world.
  We deeply treasure the contribution of TSUNEISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES to the overall economic development of the country in terms of its substantial investments, created employment, generated exports, and technology transfer. TSUNEISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (CEBU), Inc. is a close, valued and significantly prized investor and development partner of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).
  This 20th Anniversary of TSUNEISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (CEBU), Inc. is a testament to the strong and enduring relationship between the Philippines, PEZA and TSUNEISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (CEBU), Inc. I am confident that TSUNEISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (CEBU), Inc. will not only continue to grow and lead the way towards shipbuilding craftsmanship excellence but will also be the world's benchmark of a very professional and successful shipbuilding operation.
  Mabuhay!

Governor, Province of Cebu, Philippines
HILARIO P. DAVIDE III

  The five ships brought to Cebu by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan 500 years ago had a total weight of 480 tons, the smallest was the Santiago at just 75 tons, and the biggest was the San Antonio at 120 tons.

   Today, the biggest ship launched from Cebu was the 180,000 ton Frontier Zone delivered by Tsuneishi from its shipyard in Balamban last January. This company provides employment to over 13,000 workers, directly or indirectly through 61 sub-contractors and is projected to pour some P25 Billion into the local economy this year.

  Tsuneishi's presence in Cebu not only provides these direct and indirect economic benefits, but more important than that is the image it projects that Cebu is ready and welcomes big industries.

  I trust that we shall continue to be together 20 years from today.

Provincial Board Member 3rd District
Province of Cebu, Philippines
ALEX S. BINGHAY

  Balamban is located on the west side of the Island Province of Cebu. It has common boundary with Cebu City which is located on the east side of the Province.
  In the 1990’s Balamban is a 4th class municipality with an annual budget of 20 million peso, hardly enough for the salaries of the Municipal employees much less for the improvement of the quality of life of the community.
  The turnaround in economic change was felt in 1992 when K&A METAL INDUSTRIES, Inc. established itself as a ship-breaking company. In the beginning, there were only a few hundred workers mostly from Balamban. For the workers, it has actually helped their family improve their living condition.
It was only in 1994 when THI started their shipbuilding industry that Balamban really felt the economic surge that tremendously catapulted the town into economic prominence. Employment started to increase to thousands which triggered a multiplying effect in the economy.
  Basic example of this is the market. The town used to slaughter one pig daily and one cattle a week, now it has daily consumption of a minimum of 30 pigs to a maximum of 100 and 2 cattle daily. There are two commercial banks and four saving banks operating in the town; ATM machines are in every corner of the streets. The transportation sector has increased so much that we are now experiencing traffic congestion in some streets of the town. What is more significant is the increase in the town’s budget: from 20 million peso in the 1990’s to 250 million peso at present. The town is able to achieve a lot of infrastructure projects that greatly improve our people’s quality of life ; improve water system that serves 90% of our inhabitants; some streets, not only in the town proper but also in the far-flung barangays –villages- are already concreted; parks, playground & Municipal Oval for athletic meetings; building structures in the market for additional market spaces. Many things that used to be a dream before are now a reality. 
  From a sleepy town to a very progressive Municipality, Balamban became the envy of other Municipalities in the Province of Cebu. That’s how we are now because of your company the TSUNEISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (CEBU), Inc.

President
TSUNEISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (CEBU), Inc.
Hitoshi Kono

  The effort and the transfer of the production system from Japan by the pioneer Japanese senior staff helped create competent Filipino employees and a world competitive firm. I am proud to be working with such a firm that can be recognized as one of the best.
  TSUNEISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (CEBU), Inc. look forward to capitalizing on the Philippines’ economic growth by becoming the ‘Mother’ shipyard among Southeast Asian countries with Balamban being the Shipbuilding Capital of the Philippines from now on. This, we shall provide systematic education program and aim to achieve through constant improvement of our technical capabilities, utilization of modern and top of the line equipment to maximize production of our shipbuilding facilities. We also foresee the need and beneficial future effect of continuous training and development of our workforce to be able to achieve the forecasted shipbuilding capacity to 30 vessels per year.
  We are truly grateful for the hospitality and continued support from the local community, the Philippine government, without which we would not have reached this milestone. Equally, we thank the Aboitiz Group and all of our customers for providing the support and guidance that we needed.
  We will always be grateful for the cooperation and dedication of both the Filipino and Japanese staff. Your dedication helped us achieve the level of quality we have and will always aim for.