People-profile-FujiAgus<\/p>\n
JP\/20\/FUJI<\/p>\n
Lamenting lack of govt support for innovators<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Bandung<\/p>\n
The increase in the price of kerosene on Oct. 1 has been a boon
\nfor K. Fuji Agus.<\/p>\n
The price, almost double what it was previously, has forced
\nhousewives, restaurants and food vendors to think of saving fuel,
\nleading to frequent phone calls to his office on the outskirts of
\nBandung from various cities to order the energy-saving stoves he
\ncreated in 2000.<\/p>\n
The Gasmit (gas minyak tanah, or kerosene) stove, was designed
\nby Fuji around five years ago, when the kerosene price was still
\nlow.<\/p>\n
In three years, production of the wickless Gasmit, with its
\ngas-like blue flame, kept rising. With only 200 units per month
\ninitially, the rate further increased and reached 500 units per
\nmonth early in 2005, before hitting the current 1,000-unit mark.<\/p>\n
\"Energy-saving solutions are what we must seek today. The fuel
\nprice hike is inevitable because of the big difference compared
\nto global oil prices, resulting in rampant smuggling and its
\nadverse effects on ordinary people,\" he told The Jakarta Post at
\nhis office-cum-factory on Jl. Cimencrang, Sukarno Hatta, Bandung.<\/p>\n
Fuji said that Indonesia should have used aviation fuel for
\nhouseholds rather than kerosene, which should now cost Rp 7,500
\nper liter.<\/p>\n
However, as middle- and lower-income people have been using
\nkerosene for cooking with conventional stoves since the Dutch
\ncolonial period, the fuel has received a large government
\nsubsidy.<\/p>\n
The growing possibility of the government reducing further the
\nfuel subsidy prompted Fuji to rack his brains to find a way of
\nsaving kerosene for the traditional stoves widely used by
\nIndonesian housewives.<\/p>\n
Colonial technology<\/p>\n
He refused, though, to be called the Gasmit inventor.<\/p>\n
\"The technology had already been in use in colonial times.
\nStoves resembling the Gasmit can still be found in former Dutch
\nestates such as those in Pangalengan and Subang, but they used
\nthe four-burner system,\" said Fuji, born in Bandung on Dec. 23,
\n1965, humbly.<\/p>\n
With a passion for practicing technical skills since his
\nprimary school years, Fuji referred to the utilization of gravity
\nas the main element of Gasmit's simple technology.<\/p>\n
The unique stove with a kerosene tank positioned about 1.5 to
\ntwo meters above it creates high pressure as the fuel enters the
\nstove pipe, thereby producing gas.<\/p>\n
Like liquefied petroleum gas, the flame of Gasmit has no black
\nsmoke, no odor and causes no irritation to the eye.<\/p>\n
Though inspired by existing technology, Fuji and his
\nassistants found it tough to design a stove that was economical
\nin terms of fuel consumption and turn the four-kilogram steel
\nconstruction into a packable, 26 centimeter by 26 cm by 36 cm
\nunit.<\/p>\n
\"It took about a year to complete, with an initial investment
\nof Rp 100 million from my own pocket,\" said the father of two.<\/p>\n
A single Gasmit unit now sells for Rp 185,000, and the frame
\nis an additional Rp 40,000. So far, orders have come from
\nBandung, Greater Jakarta, Solo, Kediri, Medan, Manado and Papua.<\/p>\n
Buyers claim to be satisfied with the product's energy-saving
\ncapacity and its 10,000 to 12,000 calorie output, almost equal to
\nthe heat produced by a gas stove.<\/p>\n
In a recent safety test, a Gasmit was left burning for three
\ndays and nights continuously. Developed without the support of
\nany institution, Fuji's innovation can reduce kerosene
\nconsumption from one liter for 1.5 hours' cooking time (using a
\nconventional stove) to one liter for four hours' use by Gasmit.<\/p>\n
The money he invested in Gasmit came from his salary as a
\nprivate researcher on government research projects. Apart from
\nGasmit, some of Fuji's other devices are also widely known in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
\"The M60 machine for brick and block molding is now used in
\nnearly all parts of Indonesia. My name is unimportant because the
\nequipment was produced in cooperation with the Settlement
\nResearch and Development Center,\" the bespectacled man revealed.<\/p>\n
Habitual tinkerer<\/p>\n
Despite his hobby and professional involvement in technology,
\nmachine assembly and engineering, his educational background is
\nin no way related to his skills.<\/p>\n
Born to a family of automobile workshop owners, as a boy Fuji
\nwas fond of tinkering with toys, household appliances and various
\nautomatic gadgets for hotel and mall entrances. He also read a
\nlot of technical books to improve his knowledge and skills; he
\nalways got the highest mark of nine in technical subjects at
\nschool.<\/p>\n
\"In primary school I made a model of an equilibrium system and
\nin secondary school I designed a door with an LDR (light
\ndetection ratio) system, which automatically closes when exposed
\nto light,\" said Fuji, who now employs 25 workers.<\/p>\n
Sadly, his interest and achievement were insufficient to take
\nhim to Bandung's Institute of Technology (ITB). As a high school
\ngraduate, he tried several times in vain to join the mechanical
\nengineering department of the prestigious institute.<\/p>\n
He decided to resign himself to the fact that he would not be
\nable to pursue a mechanical engineering degree and studied law at
\na university in Bandung. Graduating in 1985, he returned to his
\nobsession with machines using simple and low-cost technology,
\ninstead of working as a lawyer.<\/p>\n
He was convinced that even without an ITB qualification, his
\ngadgets would eventually speak for themselves.<\/p>\n
With confidence, he started a small-scale manufacturing
\nindustry by designing new devices based on ideas that popped into
\nhis head. \"I frequently visited scrap dealers in Jatayu, Bandung,
\nto observe used machines or equipment.<\/p>\n
\"I would stop for a while if something made me curious and
\nthink of some practical application at home,\" said Fuji, who was
\nreluctant to speak about his family.<\/p>\n
By assembling scrap into machines for various applications, he
\nsecured a place in the industry, leading to contracts as a
\nprivate researcher with different government agencies to handle
\nprojects of appropriate technology.<\/p>\n
Even now, state oil and gas company Pertamina is working in
\ncooperation with him to create a special stove for a new fuel
\nproduct, to be released in the local market soon.<\/p>\n
Patent obstruction<\/p>\n
Fuji has received no award for any of his pieces of work that
\nbenefits the public at large. He even has trouble in getting
\npatents for his innovations.<\/p>\n
\"I submitted my application for a Gasmit patent over six
\nmonths ago, but it will take three years to obtain it. In fact,
\nmore than 20 companies have shown interest in using Gasmit
\ntechnology since its release,\" he lamented.<\/p>\n
He observed wryly that Indonesia could be among the seven
\nwonders of the modern world for its ability to place obstacles in
\nthe way of citizens seeking to secure protection for intellectual
\nproperty rights.<\/p>\n
\"The longer we handle the application, the more money we have
\nto spend, thus pleasing patent authorities, which should,
\nideally, work as fast as possible to prevent foreign piracy,\" he
\npointed out.<\/p>\n
In his view, the government should be proactive about looking
\ninto the recording of such innovations by government research
\nbodies or universities, as well as those by private researchers
\nlike himself.<\/p>\n
\"I'm not seeking any government award, as the benefits enjoyed
\nby society at large are far more important.<\/p>\n
Please show appreciation, though, by facilitating the
\npatenting procedure,\" added Fuji.<\/p>",
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