Honda opens two new RI plants<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Karawang, West Java<\/p>\n
Japan's second largest automotive company Honda Motor Co.,
\nLtd., officially opened on Thursday two new plants in Karawang,
\nWest Java, raising new hopes that some still considered the
\ncountry an attractive investment destination.<\/p>\n
Visiting Honda president Takeo Fukui said the company had
\ndecided to establish the plants in Indonesia because it believed
\nthat the country would become a major player in automotive spare
\nparts production in the region.<\/p>\n
"We are talking about long-term prospects. I know that there
\nare security concerns here, but I believe they will not last
\nlong," Fukui told press following the opening ceremony.<\/p>\n
He explained that the plants were part of Honda's attempt to
\nestablish a highly efficient and flexible global network for
\nproduction and parts procurement, making the best use of the
\ncompetitive strength of its plants located in different regions
\nin the world.<\/p>\n
However, Honda's Chief Operating Officer for Asia and Oceania
\nSatoshi Toshida told The Jakarta Post that it would really hamper
\nefficiency if its local operation faced disturbances as occurred
\ntwo years ago when workers staged a massive strike.<\/p>\n
"We expect this kind of situation will not happen again," said
\nToshida.<\/p>\n
Budi Setiadharma, president of PT Astra International,
\nIndonesia's largest car marker, welcomed the new investment made
\nby Honda, urging the government to use this momentum to further
\nimprove the investment climate to attract more international
\nmoney in the automotive industry.<\/p>\n
Foreign direct investment in the country has plunged since the
\nlate 1990s economic crisis. The recent improvement in the
\ncountry's macroeconomic indicators has not translated into higher
\ninvestment activities due to lingering problems in other areas
\nsuch as legal uncertainty, labor disputes, corruption, lack of
\nproductivity and poor implementation of the regional autonomy
\npolicy.<\/p>\n
The government is now under pressure to increase investment to
\nhelp push economic growth higher to resolve the exploding
\nunemployment problem.<\/p>\n
Honda's two new plants are located in Bukit Indah Industrial
\nPark, Karawang --about 70 kilometers southeast of Jakarta. Honda
\nhas invested a total of US$134 million to set up the plants and
\nhas employed around 3,000 workers.<\/p>\n
One of the plants, PT Honda Precision Parts Manufacturing, is
\nHonda's first sophisticated automatic transmission and engine
\nvalve manufacturer established outside of Japan or the United
\nStates.<\/p>\n
Fukui said that automatic transmissions were one of the most
\nsophisticated components of an automobile and they required
\nadvanced technologies and human resources.<\/p>\n
"We believe that Indonesia is capable of producing such
\nproducts. That is why we decided to put our trust in this
\ncountry," he said.<\/p>\n
The new plant is expected to achieve an annual production
\ncapacity of 250,000 automatic transmissions and 550,000 engine
\nvalve sets in 2004.<\/p>\n
The transmission and valve products will be mostly supplied to
\nHonda's automobile plants within the South East Asia region and
\nEurope.<\/p>\n
The other new plant is called PT Honda Prospect Motor, which
\nwill assemble three of Honda's models --the Civic, the CR-V and
\nthe Stream.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is the only country outside of Japan that produces
\nthe Stream minivan.<\/p>\n
The plant, which has been operating for several months, has a
\ncurrent production capacity of 20,000 units per year, but the
\ncapacity is targeted to reach 40,000 units in 2004, and will
\nmostly be allocated for the export market.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/honda-opens-two-new-ri-plants-1447893297",
"image": ""
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