The history: From coffee to Office Park...<\/p>\n
Over a cup of freshly brewed aromatic Robusta coffee, Oesman
\nSoedargo, the Chairman, and Mansjur Tandiono, the President, of
\nthe Prasidha Group, shared their thoughts, ideas and vision for
\nthe future of one of the largest agricultural commodity
\nprocessors and exporters in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Soedargo has played an active role in developing the growth of
\ncoffee exports, as a member of the Indonesian delegation in the
\nInternational Coffee Organization and the Association of Coffee
\nProducing Countries. He is currently Vice Chairman of the
\nAssociation of Indonesian Coffee Exporters and Chairman of the
\nIndonesian Pepper Exporters Association.<\/p>\n
Mansjur Tandiono, a close associate and business partner, is
\nHead of the Compartment for Promotion of coffee exporters, in
\naddition to being the Deputy General Chairman of the Indonesian
\nAnimal Feedstuff Producers & Exporters Association.<\/p>\n
Small beginnings<\/p>\n
Soedargo recalled that it was in 1984 when four shareholders,
\nnamely Mansjur Tandiono, I Gede Subratha, Haji Machmud Uding and
\nhimself, of one of the business houses in Jakarta, realized the
\nimportance of the words \"cooperation is strength.\" This indeed
\nwas the key factor which prompted them to break away from the
\nmainstream and reach for their goal of \"Prasidha\" which is
\nsynonymous with \"success.\" They were, individually, held in high
\nesteem by the business community as commodities traders, and
\ntogether their vision, strength and determination led to the
\ncreation of the Prasidha Group.<\/p>\n
Prasidha entered the business world as coffee traders, but
\nlater expanded into other agricultural commodities as well, such
\nas crumb rubber, black pepper, tapioca, cocoa, yellow maize,
\nnutmeg and vanilla. All of these commodities were handled through
\nits trading division. And it was not long until the group
\ndiversified into other ventures, creating new divisions to handle
\nnew businesses, such as manufacturing, financial institution,
\nplantation, and real estate, Oesman Sudargo said.<\/p>\n
Last year its trading division was consolidated, and Prasidha
\nAneka Niaga was established as the operational holding company,
\ncontrolling seven subsidiaries specializing in different
\ncommodities trading. Afterwards, this company went public,
\nselling part of its shares through the Jakarta Stock Exchange and
\nSurabaya Stock Exchange. Last year its turnover reached a new
\nrecord of about US$400 million, 90 percent of which came from
\nexports.<\/p>\n
The group's strength lies in coffee, which contributes 70
\npercent of Prasidha Aneka Niaga's income. Its coffee exports last
\nyear reached 110,000 tons, amounting to about 38 percent of
\nIndonesia's total coffee exports, according to Mansyur Tandiono.<\/p>\n
However, in the words of Prasiddha Aneka Niaga's president,
\n\"We are not just a trading firm. We believe in value added
\nprocessing and upgrading the raw materials to international
\nstandards for export\". Prasidha Aneka Niaga's concentration in
\nthe future is on downstream production, he added.<\/p>\n
The group's manufacturing arm was consolidated into PT Dasa
\nWindu Agung, which started with a polyurethane factory,
\nmanufacturing mainly car components out of polyurethane and
\nplastics. It caters to local demands, namely Daihatsu and Suzuki.
\nA tuna canning factory has also been established in Gempol, East
\nJava, in collaboration with Japanese partners Itochu, Hagoromo
\nand Jaido. Its export market includes Europe, Japan, the USA and
\nthe Middle East, with sales amounting to US$18 million last year.<\/p>\n
Financial institution<\/p>\n
Social awareness and concern for the welfare of the people of
\nIndonesia is one of Prasidha's prime concerns. The Prasidha Bank
\nin Jakarta, as well as its branches, assist home buyers in
\npurchasing estate houses by providing bank loans. It focuses on
\nplanning and building affordable housing to meet the needs and
\ndemands of the middle income class.<\/p>\n
Local banks, Bank Perkreditan Rakyat, have been established in
\nPalembang and Lampung, to assist local suppliers as well as the
\ngeneral population in those areas. Plans are underway to merge
\nthe banking activities for smoother operations.<\/p>\n
Real Estate<\/p>\n
The beginning of the Real Estate Division can be traced back
\nto 1985. Soedargo and Tandiono, apart from their expertise in
\ncoffee, were involved in the real estate business as well.<\/p>\n
Prasidha's Real Estate activities began in 1986, in Surabaya,
\nand in 1987, in Palembang. In Jakarta its projects include the
\nJuanda Utama office building, Prima Indah Estate and Kebon Jeruk
\nIndah housing estate. In Surabaya it became known by its projects
\nsuch as the Basuki Rachmat office building and shop residences,
\nthe Kenjeran Permai Housing, Jagalan office building and shop
\nresidences, the Sutoredjo Indah Housing and Sutoredjo Prima Indah
\nHousing, while in Palembang they constructed the Bukit Besar
\nHousing complex.<\/p>\n
The group has also been involved in general construction
\nprojects, namely buildings and roads. The prestigious
\nconstruction work of Indonesia's major oil company in Gresik,
\nPertamina, has been undertaken by this group. Factory building
\nprojects are a recent addition to its range of activities.<\/p>\n
The Plantation Division was set up to sustain a consistent
\nsupply of high quality raw materials for producing superior
\nquality instant coffee. A coffee plantation was opened in
\nBengkulu, Sumatra, to produce Arabica coffee, and another
\nplantation was added to produce Robusta coffee.<\/p>\n
Articles in this section are written by Sheila Natesan.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-history-from-coffee-to-office-park-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }