Branta Mulia, Teijin to make tire yarn

Branta Mulia, Teijin to make tire yarn

JAKARTA (JP): PT Branta Mulia has set up a joint venture with
Teijin Limited of Japan to produce the latest polyester tire yarn
called High Modulus Low Shrinkage.

The Indonesian company announced yesterday that the joint
venture, called PT Branta Mulia Teijin Indonesia, is building a
plant in Citeureup, West Java, to start production in the middle
of 1997.

Branta Mulia is the country's only tire yarn and cord fabric
manufacturer. Its partner, Teijin Limited, is a major global
producer of polyester tire fabrics and has developed the
technology to make improved polyester tire fabrics.

With an investment of US$50 million (70 percent contributed by
Branta Mulia and 30 percent by Teijin), the plant will have a
production capacity of 9,500 tons per year and is expected to
help Indonesia reduce tire raw material imports.

According to Branta Mulia, the new facility -- the first of
its kind in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- will
enable the company to cut its production costs by between 5 and
10 percent.

It stated that polyester fabric is increasingly used as a raw
material for tire production.

Most of the joint venture plant's production will be absorbed
by the Branta Mulia's tire-cord subsidiaries, Branta Mulia
Indonesia, Branta Mulia Thailand and Branta Mulia Malaysia. (13)