Hitachi to make equipment here

Hitachi to make equipment here

BEKASI, West Java (JP): PT Hitachi Power Systems Indonesia, a Japanese-Indonesian joint venture, broke ground here yesterday to set up a US$13 million plant for the production of equipment used in electric power transformer substations.

K. Hamada, the executive managing director of Hitachi Ltd. of Japan, said after the ground-breaking ceremony that the plant is expected in November to start manufacturing highly sophisticated electric equipment such as gas insulated switchgears, zinc oxide lighting surge arresters and gas insulated metal clad switchgears.

The joint venture, established on March 27, is 70 percent owned by Hitachi, 20 percent by PT Tirtamas Majutama and 10 percent by PT Inti Putramodern.

Hamada said the plant will be the first of its kind in Indonesia and will be Hitachi's second base outside Japan after the first one in United States.

He said the new venture will sell most of its products domestically and export the remainder to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines with annual sales of about $40 million.

The factory is being constructed on an area of 31,000 square metres in the East Jakarta Industrial Park by Kajima Overseas Asia Pte.,Ltd. of Japan. (32)