CEBU, Philippines —   Tiger Car Supply Trading has partnered with Korean truck maker to establish in Cebu the first local assembly plant of Daewoo Trucks in the Philippines.

Tiger Car Supply Trading is the first distributor of the globally known trucks and vehicle brands in Central Visayas.

In an interview with Tiger Car Supply Trading president Roger Lim Crisologo, he said instead of doing bulk truck distributor, both companies agreed to assemble trucks in Cebu, not just to make these heavy vehicle units cheaper for local market, but also to provide jobs to skilled workers in Cebu.

According to Moon Kyung II, general manager for Daewoo Trucks, export project team, the Cebu plant located in Barangay Tayud, Consolacion is the first assembly plant for Daewoo in the Philippines.

The close to one-hectare assembly plant has the capacity to make 50 to 80 units a month. Assembled trucks range from commercial transportation, construction and industrial vehicles like mixers, fire trucks, government vehicles, among others.

Steven Crisologo, Tiger Car operations manager, noted that with this partnership, Cebu is envisioned to kick off the development of locally assembled trucks industry in the country.

While most, if not all of the materials used in assembly plant are imported from the Daewoo headquarter in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea, Steven hopes to eventually source some of the raw materials locally, “to help some industries here, too.”

“We are still starting. The plant is still in younger stage currently employing 30 people, including a Korean research and development expert to ensure quality and mastery,” added Steven.

As the plant expands its assembly volume, Tiger Car expects to hire more welders, mechanics and other skilled workers. Part of the company’s ultimate goal is to develop a local truck making brand in Cebu, said Steven.

Tiger Car executives led by Crisologo and Daewoo top officials from Korea graced the grand Daewoo Trucks official launching held on April 20, 2022 at the Radisson Blu Cebu.

The grand event, signified the two companies’ commitment to lead a paradigm shift in the automotive industry fostering innovation and differentiated technology to further compete in the global market.

Tiger Car Supply Trading is a Cebu-based importer, assembler and rebuilder of high quality utility vehicle units ranging from multicabs, mini-trucks, vans, heavy duty trucks, heavy equipment and construction machineries covering largely the Visayas and Mindanao markets.