Texmaco set to become machine tools producer<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): While the monetary authorities worry about
\nimport growth exceeding export expansion, this trend is seen by
\nMarimutu Sinivasan, Chairman of the Texmaco Group, as business
\nopportunities.<\/p>\n
Sinivasan is especially excited about the opportunities
\noffered by the US$12-13 billion Indonesia has to spend annually
\non capital goods imports.<\/p>\n
\"We actually are capable of making ourselves quite a number of
\nthose capital goods,\" he says in explaining the economic
\nrationale of the big investments his group has been putting in
\nthe engineering industry over the last few years.<\/p>\n
Indeed, Texmaco's modern textile machinery and machine tools
\nhave become one of the greatest attractions at the current
\nIndonesian Expo 1995 here, as can be seen from the large number
\nof visitors, including distinguished persons, to the Texmaco
\nstand.<\/p>\n
The Texmaco stand does boast a wide array of modern textile
\nmachinery such as air and water jet looms, weaving, warping,
\nsizing, dyeing, pre-winder, winder machines, jet spindles and
\nmachine tools such as computer-numerically controlled (CNC)
\nlathes which many assume should have been imported from Japan or
\nat least from South Korea or Taiwan.<\/p>\n
The media attention gained by the Texmaco machinery obviously
\nis not as great as the big fanfare that accompanied the maiden
\nflight of the N-250 aircraft in Bandung on Aug.10.<\/p>\n
But Texmaco's big expansion in the engineering industry could
\nbecome a breakthrough in accelerating the industrial development
\nbecause machine tools make machines and machinery.<\/p>\n
Sinivasan sees another great benefit in locally manufacturing
\nmachine tools and other processing machinery.<\/p>\n
\"It is machines which process natural resources into basic and
\nintermediate materials,\" he points out.<\/p>\n
Hence, according to his rationale, the capability to make a
\nwide range of machines will reduce the country's dependence on
\nforeign suppliers not only for capital goods but also basic and
\nintermediate materials whose imports reach $12 billion a year.<\/p>\n
\"Moreover, the manufacture of machine tools in the
\nindustrialized countries has become less competitive due to high
\nlabor costs and workers' dislike of dirty manual work.\"<\/p>\n
Therefore, the international market also offers big
\nopportunities for a wide array of machinery and machine tools,
\nSinivasan says, citing a number of orders his company received
\nfrom the United States and several other countries after its
\nparticipation in the Hannover Fair in Germany last April.<\/p>\n
\"We still lag far behind in the engineering industry and this
\ncould become a drag on our industrialization process,\" he points
\nout.<\/p>\n
Sinivasan sees it as a big disappointment that Indonesia, for
\nexample, is not capable of fully manufacturing even hand-tractors
\nwhich are much needed by the agricultural sector.<\/p>\n
\"The impact is much more damaging than our continued
\ndependence on imports of completely-knocked down kits of
\ntractors. That also is one of the causes of the urbanization,\" he
\nsays.<\/p>\n
According to him, most of the job-seekers in the countryside
\nnow are graduates of either secondary or high schools who
\nobviously are not attracted to work with hoes on the farms.<\/p>\n
\"The situation, I think, would be very much different if we
\nhad been able to manufacture hand tractors at relatively low
\ncosts. Those job seekers might have been comfortable working in
\nthe farms,\" he argues.<\/p>\n
Texmaco's decision to masssively expand its engineering
\ncapability also has been prompted by Sinivasan's overriding
\ncommitment to add value to whatever products his company
\nmanufactures.<\/p>\n
In fact, the embryo of PT Texmaco Perkasa Engineering, the
\nengineering subsidiary of the Texmaco group, emerged in the late
\n1970s from PT Texmaco Jaya, the textile subsidiary which started
\nup the production of fabric in Central Java almost 30 years ago.<\/p>\n
Sinivasan's drive to generate higher value added later
\nresulted in his expansion into the manufacture of polyester
\nchips, fibers and a full range of filament yarns which are now
\nmanaged under PT Polysindo Eka Perkasa.<\/p>\n
The need to repair and replace textile machinery and the
\nrequirements of spare parts and components for the textile and
\nfiber making companies led to the establishment of a textile
\nmachinery workshop, which has become Texmaco Perkasa Engineering.<\/p>\n
\"The expansion or diversification from textile manufacture to
\nmachinery and machine tools are by no means an unusual process,\"
\nhe says in defending his diversification.<\/p>\n
In Japan, for example, Toyota, Suzuki and Nissan which are now
\nmajor car producers, all started from the textile industry,
\naccording to Sinivasan.<\/p>\n
Now Texmaco Perkasa Engineering is geared up to become a big
\nplayer in the manufacture not only of textile machinery and
\nmachine tools but also automotive parts and equipment for the
\nchemical, cement and fiber industries.<\/p>\n
The three Texmaco subsidiaries with industrial plants in
\nCentral Java and Krawang, West Java, are already listed on the
\nJakarta stock exchange.<\/p>\n
Texmaco's foundry capacity has been expanded in iron, steel
\nand aluminum castings for a wide range of machine parts and
\nautomotive components.<\/p>\n
Its machining capability is fully equipped with CNC equipment
\nranging from laser cutting machines, turning centers, machining
\ncenters.<\/p>\n
The company also is further going upstream to increase the
\nvalue added of its textile products by building a US$600 million
\npurified terepthalic acid (PTA) plant in Krawang which is slated
\nto come on stream next year.<\/p>\n
The PTA plant will further improve Texmaco's polymer
\ntechnology to supply the world market with a wider variety of
\nhigh fashion fabrics and garments.<\/p>\n
Texmaco, already Indonesia's largest and most integrated
\ntextile group, is poised to become also a major supplier of
\nmachinery and machine tools.<\/p>\n
Texmaco estimates its group sales will triple to around US$2
\nbillion within the next five years and expects the structure of
\nits earnings to become much stronger.<\/p>\n
Sinivasan expects that by the year 2000 the Texmaco Group's
\nearnings will be derived in equal proportion from three product
\ncategories: Textile raw materials, high-fashion fabrics and
\ngarments and engineering goods. (vin)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/texmaco-set-to-become-machine-tools-producer-1447893297",
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