We open a new IT centre in Manila

The opening was attended by the Danish Minister for Trade and Development, Mr. Mogens Jensen. He cut the ribbon in connection with an official visit to the Philippines. The new centre will host internal IT-activities for the group and has initially started up with 90 employees, a figure which is expected to increase to around 200 in the coming years. The opening in Manila is the latest example of the ongoing globalisation in our organisation, where the main target is improving local presence by using the whole world as a working place in order to grow the business.

“We have pursued global optimisation since year 2000, where we moved the first production lines from Denmark to Hungary. This process has been continued in order to maintain our business and increase competitiveness, and it has shown to be positive for all stakeholders. We have more than doubled the number of employees globally from 9,000 to 19,500 in that period, and more than doubled our turnover without affecting the number of Danish employees. Our market and workplace is global,” says Jens Hartmann, Group Vice President and CIO at Grundfos.

The new centre is located in the Ortigas district, Pasig, Manila, and was chosen after a long process of scouting suitable places for the new IT centre. Among the reasons for choosing Manila was the strong governmental support with subsidies as for instance the PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority) setup, within which our new subsidiary has already been certified. A long standing focus on the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) business area also played a part in selecting the Philippine capital as well as a stable economy in the country.

“In addition, the local talent base is ever growing, and English language skills are very good. On top of that, the Philippine people are known for their service-mindedness and hospitality. Finally, the strong family culture in the Philippines aligns very well with the culture of Grundfos,” says General Manager of the new IT centre, Hans Ole Steensig.

Grundfos is already present in the Philippines via a sales office, which has been in business since 2004.