Client News
Global Steel Philippines plans to ramp up manpower strength by 30%
Aug 14, 2006
While focusing on best practice, knowledge and skill sharing
(Manila, Philippines) — Global Steel Philippines, Inc. (GSPI), the country’s largest steel mill and Iligan City’s largest employer, recently announced that it will increase manpower by 30%.
The company currently employs a workforce of approximately 1,200, of which 96% are Filipinos and 4% are expatriates. The announcement came in the wake of the company’s plans for greater integration along the value chain, with the objective of making the Philippines self-reliant in steel manufacturing. The ramp-up in workforce will take place in phases.
Apart from helping shape the future of the local steel industry as the country’s largest manufacturer and exporter of hot and cold flat products, GSPI is also finalizing plans to offer a range of new products, according to executives.
Commenting on GSPI’s success, human resources head Robin Basu said, “Our greatest strength is the quality of our people. They are the major success factor in turning around the Iligan facility. GSPI believes in being a lean, cost-effective learning organization employing best management practices. We seek to continuously support, encourage, challenge and stimulate our employees through a variety of world-class programs that contribute to global best practice.”
According to Basu, GSPI wants to become an innovative company where employees can excel by removing barriers to optimal performance. “Together, we dissect every part of our operations to understand what should be benchmarked, and identify with whom and how that knowledge should be transferred by upgrading technology or by investing in training and development,” he said.
To assure global standards of efficiency, Sangram Mohanty, head for corporate communications, explained that GSPI asks critical questions such as, “Is there a better way to address problems and be more cost-effective at the same time? Do we require two men to do a certain job? Do their roles overlap? Can we save on cost and also attain quality benchmarks? Are we following the Six-Sigma processes in making decisions?”
“Operational excellence, greater focus on productivity, quality, cost improvements, and marketing and consolidating better are key elements in our continued success,” said Bhim Sen Mohnani, president for operations.
GSPI is a subsidiary of Global Steel Holdings Limited (GSHL), which acquired the former National Steel Corporation (NSC) in 2004. The strategic acquisition provided the global group a production platform for Southeast Asian markets. Currently, GSPI exports its production to Asian, European and American customers.