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)