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.