HM Sampoerna makes venture with Japanese firm

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)