PT Branta Mulia gaining excellence through quality<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: Ten years old is quite young. Nonetheless, as the
\nfirst and leading tire cord manufacturer in Southeast Asia, PT
\nBranta Mulia is a mature establishment.<\/p>\n
With production bases in Indonesia and Thailand -- and later
\nin Malaysia and the Philippines -- Branta Mulia has been
\npenetrating overseas tire cord markets ranging from Japan in Far
\nEast Asia to Tanzania in Africa.<\/p>\n
More than 50 percent of its products are sold on overseas
\nmarkets, particularly countries in the Asia-Pacific rim,
\nincluding Japan, China, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia,
\nAustralia and New Zealand, and a number of countries in the
\nMiddle East and Africa, including Iran, Kenya and Tanzania.<\/p>\n
"Even a country like Iran, which used to import tire cords
\nfrom Turkey, turns to us. It shows that the price of our tire
\ncords is very competitive," Branta Mulia's president, Ibrahim
\nRisjad, said. "We invite competition to prove that our price is
\ncompetitive."<\/p>\n
Founded in 1981, Branta Mulia commenced its production of tire
\ncords at its plant in Citeureup in Bogor, West Java, in 1985,
\nwith an initial annual production capacity of 12,000 tons. The
\ncompany then several times expanded the capacity of its
\nproduction facilities in Citeureup to the current level of 21,000
\ntons per annum.<\/p>\n
In 1990, Branta Mulia floated 12.5 million shares or 10
\npercent of its total common stocks, to the public through an
\ninitial public offering on the Jakarta Stock Exchange. After
\ngoing public, Branta Mulia is 23 percent owned by Robby Sumampow,
\n22 percent by Henry Pribadi's family, 10 percent by the public
\nand seven percent by Ibrahim Risjad.<\/p>\n
Branta Mulia has acquired a 49 percent stake in a joint
\nventure tire cord plant at Ayuthya, north of Bangkok, Thailand,
\nwhich began commercial production in 1993 with a capacity of
\n12,000 tons per year.<\/p>\n
Last year the company recorded a 9.6 percent increase in net
\nsales to Rp 308 billion (US$132 million) and a 5.7 percent rise
\nin its net profit to Rp 37.1 billion over the previous year.<\/p>\n
Branta Mulia's impressive performance is due largely to its
\nbusiness strategy. All Branta Mulia's tire reinforcement products
\ncan be made in line with its clients' specifications and the
\ncompany welcomes specific orders.<\/p>\n
Currently, the company serves many of the world's leading tire
\nmanufacturers, most notably Goodyear, Bridgestone, Firestone,
\nGeneral Tire, Sime Darby Group, South Pacific Tires Group,
\nMichelin and Siam Tire Group.<\/p>\n
Branta Mulia has also secured a new product approval from
\nGoodyear and Michelin for the use of its tire cord fabrics in
\naircraft tires.<\/p>\n
In ensuring the quality of its products, the company is
\ncommitted to using the best quality materials, the best modern
\ntechnology and quality-assured manufacturing processes.<\/p>\n
The company secures its raw materials from the Du Pont Company
\nof the United States and other third-party suppliers. However,
\nraw materials represent only a small percentage of its production
\ncosts.<\/p>\n
"Tire cord is a high technology product. Thus, raw material
\nserves as a very marginal aspect in the structure of our
\nproduction costs. Similarly in the cement industry, most of our
\nproduction costs go towards the technology and machinery of the
\nplants," Risjad said.<\/p>\n
In addition to checking the physical properties of the
\nmaterials secured for production and the purity of the chemicals
\npurchased, Branta Mulia's research and development center
\nmonitors the production process in all stages, performs sampling
\nand testing as well as analyzes the products so that they can
\nmeet approved international standards.<\/p>\n
Due to its continuing efforts in assuring high-quality
\nproducts and production process, the company was awarded the
\nQuality Assurance Standard of ISO-9002 in October 1994.<\/p>\n
Integration<\/p>\n
Branta Mulia is concentrating on deepening its core business
\nand strengthening its market access rather than going downstream
\nto the tire manufacturing industry.<\/p>\n
"No need to worry on the parts of tire manufacturers that we
\nwill go downstream. No, we don't want to go downstream. We'd
\nbetter strengthen our production base," Ibrahim Risjad said.<\/p>\n
To achieve the goal, Branta Mulia is engineering further
\nupstream integration. Currently it is building a polyester yarn
\nplant, with an annual production capacity of 12,000 tons. It also
\nplans to establish a rayon plant and a steel cord plant in the
\nnear future.<\/p>\n
Currently Branta Mulia is expanding the tire cord production
\ncapacity of its Thailand plant to 16,500 tons per annum, which is
\nexpected to be ready at the end of this year, and the capacity of
\nits nylon-66 yarn plant to 34,000 tons, which is projected to
\ncommence production next year.<\/p>\n
To strengthen its already strong market position in the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and tap more
\nbenefits from the ASEAN Free Trade Area -- which will fully come
\ninto affect in 2003, or could be accelerated to 2000 -- Branta
\nMulia is expanding its production base to Malaysia and the
\nPhilippines.<\/p>\n
Besides Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, ASEAN also
\ngroups Brunei, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
On August 25 in Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia, PT Branta Mulia
\nsigned a joint venture agreement with Silver Image Investment,
\nLtd., Seacorp Venture Capital Sdn. Bhd. and Kampong Yarn
\nCorporation Sdn. Bhd. for the establishment of the third tire
\ncord fabric manufacturing facility: Branta Industries (Malaysia)
\nSdn. Bhd.<\/p>\n
The construction of Branta Mulia's Malaysia plant, which will
\nhave an annual production capacity of 12,000 tons of tire cords,
\nis expected to be ready early 1997.<\/p>\n
The company has incorporated into its production facilities
\ntire cord technology from Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company of the
\nUnited States and collaborated with the Bridgestone Corporation
\nof Japan, to produce a full range of tire cord products.<\/p>\n
Branta Mulia is already producing Nylon-66 under a licensing
\nagreement from Du Pont. Nylon 66 is a more superior quality
\nproduct compared to Nylon-6. Nylon-66 is used for high quality
\nradial tires, while the latter is used mostly for conventional
\ntires.<\/p>\n
"This is the first and in fact, the only license ever granted
\nby Du Pont to an independent producer like Branta Mulia,"
\nJohannes Mung Harjono, a member of the company's board of
\ndirectors, said.<\/p>",
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