Catur Yasa carves out role in Indonesian development

Catur Yasa carves out role in Indonesian development

The scope of PT Catur Yasa's projects, spanning such diverse
sectors as construction, energy, telecommunications and agro-
industry, crisscrosses the numerous islands in the Indonesian
archipelago.

The company's formula for success is based on prudent
management principles, which are anchored in gradual but
continuous growth, the full capability to meet project
requirements, and an unwavering commitment to improving the lot
of the Indonesian people.

From its early beginnings as a turnkey civil engineering
contractor for private and government undertakings, PT Catur Yasa
has expanded to play an increasingly important role in developing
Indonesia's infrastructure.

Today, Catur Yasa continues to forge ahead in initiating
benchmark projects in energy and telecommunications, crucial
areas for ensuring Indonesia's continued development.

During this week's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in
Jakarta, Catur Yasa will sign two historic agreements with
international blue-chip partners. One ceremony is scheduled to
sign the Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) agreement for
the Paiton Swasta I plant in Probolinggo, East Java. This will be
the first large-scale privately owned, financed and operated
power plant in Indonesia and is slated to be one of the largest
in the world.

Catur Yasa will also sign an agreement with PT Freeport
Indonesia, a subsidiary of the New Orleans-based Freeport
McMoran, to take over operation, maintenance and management of
several power plants in Irian Jaya. These plants supply energy to
Freeport Indonesia's huge mining operations in the remote
province.

History

The company's headquarters was established in 1972 in Medan,
the provincial capital of North Sumatra. Catur Yasa's first
contract was to participate in the construction of an ammonia
filling station at the port of Belawan in North Sumatra.

Other important contracts quickly followed. In 1973, Catur
Yasa secured its first contract with Pertamina, the state oil
company, to install PABX telephone switching systems in Pangkalan
Susu, Medan and Belawan Deli, all in North Sumatra. The
partnership proved to be a successful one; Catur Yasa received
five contracts from Pertamina the following year and the
relationship endures to this day.

A significant turning point was in 1976, according to Kusumo
A.M., President of Catur Yasa and one of its founders, when the
company was selected for two major projects by the state
telecommunications company, Perumtel.

"We can proudly claim that we were the first Indonesian
company to be awarded turnkey projects for telecommunications,"
Kusumo says from Catur Yasa's new offices in Pondok Pinang, South
Jakarta.

Catur Yasa's assignments were difficult. The first was to
construct 11 public exchange buildings throughout Aceh and North
Sumatra, at the time heavily forested areas with rudimentary
transportation and infrastructure. Catur Yasa's turnkey projects
included design, construction, instrumentation, generators and
power plants, fire protection systems, emplacement, concrete
piling and air conditioning.

The other Perumtel contract was for nine microwave stations to
tie the exchange together. Each project required site grading and
development, construction of buildings and roads, steel structure
towers, power plants, emplacement and instrumentation.

Expansion

Catur Yasa's continued expansion necessitated relocating its
headquarters to Jakarta in 1980. The move fueled a surge in
business growth as Catur Yasa expanded its operations to include
agroindustry and property.

The company successfully handled many major projects during
the decade, including:

- Process Piping Work for the Arun Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
Expansion Project in Lhokseumawe, North Aceh (1985). This
project, conducted in cooperation with owners Pertamina and JGC
Corporation, entailed field installation of the utility line,
transfer line and process piping. Catur Yasa also handled tests
for stress relief and process piping.
- Plant Site Piping Work on the Arun Liquefied Natural Gas
Project in Lhokseumawe, North Aceh (1987). Assignment included
shop fabrication of carbon steel, stainless steel, alloy pipe and
pipe support; field installation of utility, transfer line and
process piping.
- Piping Work for the Cilacap Paraxylene Project in Cilacap,
Central Java (1989). This assignment, again conducted in cooper
ation with Pertamina and JGC, required field installation of
utility line, transfer line and process piping.
- Piping Work for the Export Oriented Refinery I in Balongan,
West Java (1991-94). In a cooperative agreement with JGC Corpo
ration, Catur Yasa handled various aspects of the construction of
this polypropylene plant.

Despite the successes reaped in the last 22 years, Kusumo
remains modest about Catur Yasa's accomplishments. "Our growth
since the founding of the company has been around 5,000 percent,
but we still feel we are beginning again," he says. "We keep
striving for new objectives."

Catur Yasa now has its sights set on going public in the near
future. "There are diverse ways of creating capital and one means
is through the public," Kusumo states. "All the modern technology
provides fine opportunities to gain public funds."

He is also seeking to cement Catur Yasa's relationship with an
old partner, PT Telkom (formerly Perumtel). Kusumo estimates that
Catur Yasa is responsible for 10 percent of the total installed
capacity of telecommunication lines.

"We are already present in the oil and gas industry," Kusumo
explains. "Now, we would like to be part of Telkom's
privatization program over the next 10 years."

This advertising section was produced by TriComm Strategic
Communications and written by Bruce Emond of the TriComm staff.