UPS says opportunities for PH business ‘bright’ as it opens expanded Clark hub

MANILA — Global logistics giant UPS is investing more than $80 million in the Philippines as it expands its new hub at the Clark International Airport. 

The logistics hub, spanning 30,000 square meters, can process up to 15,000 packages per hour. The old hub processed up to 1,250 packages per hour.

UPS said the investment has allowed it to boost services across 1,100 trade lanes and operate 170 segments into and out of Clark weekly.

“This is our largest investment in the Philippines ever, and one of the largest that we’ve ever made in the whole of Asia Pacific,” said Albert Sapaen, Jr., head of UPS air operations and Clark hub project manager.

“As we move forward, I mean, we are always evaluating whatever we can do again to build a more agile air network, more agile delivery network for our customers. So there’s always conversations about what to do next,” he said when asked if UPS is eyeing further expansion in the Philippines.

“We certainly have the appetite to look beyond,” said Daryl Tay, UPS Asia Pacific operations and strategy head. 

“So we really look at how our customers in the region– how are they growing, what kind of needs they have… and as we continue to craft our longer-term strategy, we will certainly look at how we even go, expand our footprint here, in terms of not just serving it to the business market, but regionally, how do we connect Asia to the world?” he said.

Sapaen said the expanded Clark hub allows the company to serve multiple premium segments.

“So we’re able to target healthcare. Those customers needing more specific, more controlled conditions in transportation, temperature control, for example,” he said.

“We look at [the] healthcare segment, pharmaceuticals, even complex healthcare, life sciences, and we look at high tech. We look at auto,” Tay said. “They all have very specific needs that will prompt us to do much further investments as needed, based on the capabilities that we need to build beyond what we have in order to serve them better.”

Asked why the company chose to expand its hub in Clark, Sapaen said the company noted its geographic location.

“We did have a lot of considerations that UPS chose to locate here geographically as well. It enabled UPS to reach our major markets within a three- to four hour-window to enable us to deliver earlier. For example, your time-sensitive medicines and vaccines, they get to our customers as early as possible,” he said.

“We’ve been here since 2002. We have the experience. We recognize the talent and the capabilities here in Clark,” he added.

“There is an existing airport which is very conducive to our current and future needs. That’s a very important one: open skies, regulatory framework, which is conducive [to] business as well,” he said.

“The opportunities for the Philippine business are bright,” Sapaen said. “We are very optimistic about our investment here and our growth opportunities in the country, which is why…we’ve invested in a new facility in Carmona (Cavite) committed to capture the market there in the manufacturing sector, semiconductor sector.”

The executive stressed, however, that the company’s Philippine customers are still the biggest beneficiaries of the trade enhancements brought about by the hub expansion.

Sapaen said UPS also serves small and medium enterprises, which comprise 99 percent of total businesses in the Philippines.

“Online resellers, for example, we have a lot of that…those who sell handmade goods that they made at home, we have a lot of customers who do that,” he said.

“They go to ups.com, they book a pickup there,” he said.

Sapaen also said the expanded hub has created 600 jobs. Most of the employees were hired from Pampanga and nearby areas.