Pascal Resources Energy Inc. (PREI) plans to build two more facilities estimated to cost P800 million to expand the production of the first refillable liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) product that targets marginalized households to shift from solid fuels like wood and charcoal.
Nelson Par, chairman and chief executive officer of PREI, said his company has developed the technology for LPG in refillable canisters which they call Gaz Lite.
From its lone facility in Lubao, Pampanga which is capable of producing 3 million 330-gram LPG canisters per year, PREI eyes to build another facility in Iloilo by next year to serve the Visayas and another one in Mindanao.
PREI targeting 6 million households or half of households now using solid fuels to convert to Gaz Lite where they can save as much as 30 percent in fuel costs.
Par said four years since introduced Gaz Lite, sales are seen to hit P500 million in 2020 from P11.3 million in 2015.
The company has so far sold 150,000 canisters.
PREI is beefing up its distribution through regional and area sales centers that can handle community-based resellers like sarisari stores.
Gaz Lite has built a strong presence in Visayas and Mindanao and is quickly growing in Luzon particularly in Metro Manila.
First-time buyers will have to buy a kit that includes a stove or grill at P1,000 to P1,200 that includes two canisters which costs P65 each. One canister will last for three to seven days which will turn out to be cheaper than buying a P10 pack of charcoal for one-time use.
The canister can be refilled 80 times.
Once consumed, Gaz Lite LPG canisters are returned to PREI facility and safely refilled with LPG.
The company is also targeting restaurants.
PREI estimates approximately 60 percent of families in the Philippines still cook with solid fuels such as wood and charcoal. This has many detrimental effects, from risking the health and safety of family members to environmental harm.
