Gajah Tunggal to build $500m caprolactam plant

Gajah Tunggal to build $500m caprolactam plant

JAKARTA (JP): Gajah Tunggal group has signed an agreement with
Lurgi of Germany and Samsung Engineering Company of South Korea
to set up a caprolactam plant with US$500 million investment.

The company said yesterday the plant would be built on a 30-
hectare of land in Gresik, East Java.

The plant will process key raw materials for nylon production.
It will be able to make 120,000 tons a year.

Thirty-five percent of the nylon will be used by GT Petrochem
Industries's nylon filament subsidiary and 65 percent will be
sold domestically and internationally.

GT Petrochem Industries, formerly named Andayani Megah, posted
an unaudited consolidated net profit of Rp 21.17 billion in the
first quarter this year, up from Rp 11.34 billion in the same
period last year.

The strong net profit growth came from three newly acquired
businesses.

The company's consolidated gross profit margin was 17 percent,
falling from 31 percent last year.

The company's consolidated net sales rose 183 percent to Rp
140 billion in this year's first quarter, from Rp 49 billion last
year.

Thirty-nine percent of the company's first quarter net sales
came from its nylon division, 14 percent from its chemical
division and 58 percent from its polyester division.

The company said tire cord production was 4,300 tons in the
first quarter, 13 percent more than last year.

Industrial filament production was 2,700 tons, ethylene glycol
24,900 tons, polyester filament 14,800 tons and staple fiber
11,300 tons in the 1997 first quarter. (09)