HM Sampoerna makes venture with Japanese firm

JAKARTA (JP): Cigarette-maker PT HM Sampoerna, through its subsidiary PT Sampoerna Percetakan Nusantara, has signed an agreement to establish a joint venture with Japanese printing firm Toppan Printing Co.

Sampoerna Percetakan Nusantara's president, Soetjahjono Winarko, and Toppan's president, Hiromichi Fujita, both signed the agreement yesterday.

The joint venture will be called PT Toppan Sampoerna Indonesia.

The business activities of PT Toppan Sampoerna Indonesia, which has US$25 million (Rp 65 billion) in capital, currently includes paperboard packaging, commercial printing and flexible packaging operation.

The new venture, located in Cibitung, West Java, has pledged to complete the construction of a printing factory inside a 66,000-square-meter plant compound in Cibitung.

The Japanese company will provide technical know-how in printing technology including EP-PAK, disposable containers for liquid materials, environmentally friendly packaging techniques, paper cups and Toppan GL-film packaging materials.

President of the new venture, Kazutoshi Yaguchi, said PT Toppan Sampoerna Indonesia aimed to increase its competitive capabilities within the growing Asian market.

Chief commissioner of the new firm Soetjahjo Winarko, who is also president of PT Sampoerna Percetakan Nusantara, said HM Sampoerna was taking a step toward diversification.

"With this joint venture, we offer Toppan Printing Co a strong base for its international operation, as a major Asian manufacturing base," he said.

PT Sampoerna Percetakan Nusantara, established in 1989, has been an integrated printing and packaging company since 1991. (aly)