Astra completes Inalum contract

JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed PT Astra Graphia has completed the first phase of a Rp 1.6 billion (about US$678,000) system integration project for the Indonesian-Japanese smelting company, PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminum (Inalum), in North Sumatra.

Astra stated yesterday that the contract, awarded in late 1995, was for a long-term information-technology system integration project to link Inalum's offices in Kuala Tanjung, North Sumatra, and Jakarta.

The project's first phase, completed last month, installed a mainly Digital client-server system, Astra said.

"This system has been installed to migrate the applications from the old mainframes to the new client server. The second phase, set to start by mid-1997, will compose of new application implementation for procurement, inventory and maintenance management system.k

Astra Graphia director B.T. Lim said that Inalum's new information technology system, based on Digital's latest 64-bit technology solution, would let the company upgrade and optimize its operations, "thereby promoting greater company competitiveness locally and in the global marketplace".

Digital is a product supplied by PT Digital Astra Nusantara, a joint venture between Digital Equipment Corporation of the United States and Astra Graphia.

Inalum director Kimura said the system's integration was a prerequisite for his company's growth.

The company, the country's biggest producer of aluminum, has invested about $2 billion to develop the information technology system and related infrastructure in North Sumatra.

Inalum produced 225,000 tons last year, about 160,000 tons were exported. (icn)