ICI boosts Indonesian presence
ICI boosts Indonesian presence
JP/msa
JAKARTA (JP): ICI Plc's move earlier this year to take over
Unilever's chemical division will significantly boost the
company's presence in Indonesia, a senior company executive said
here yesterday.
ICI plc vice president Peter Kirby said Unilever's chemical
division, which includes Quest, Crosfield, Unichema and National
Starch, has already operated in Indonesia for a long time.
He said Quest, which produces a food flavoring and fragrance,
had been operating in Indonesia for over 30 years. Quests' Asia-
Pacific headquarters is located in Jakarta.
Crosfield, a silica producer, was building a plant in Surabaya
which would become its first business arm in the Asia Pacific
region, Kirby said.
National Starch was building an adhesives plant adjacent to
this, he said, adding that both plants were scheduled to start
commercial production next year.
"These companies are a significant addition to ICI's presence
in Indonesia, which currently consists of PT ICI Indonesia, PT
ICI Surfactants Indonesia and PT ICI Paints Indonesia," he said
in his speech at the opening of ICI Paints' new plant in
Cikarang, West Java.
Pictured above (from left to right) Effendi Soedarsono, the
director general of basic metal, machinery and chemical
industries of the ministry of industry and trade, Kirby, the vice
president of ICI Plc, P. Jain, the general manager of PT ICI
Paints Indonesia and Krisnadi the plant manager inspect the new
plant production facilities.
In August, ICI Plc acquired Unilever Speciality Chemical
Division, consisting of Quest, National Starch, Unichema and
Crosfield for US$8 billion.
To partly pay for the acquisition, ICI divested 62.4 percent
in ICI Australia for over $1.5 billion and sold its polyester and
dioxide businesses for $3 billion.
PT ICI Paints Indonesia, 55 percent owned by ICI Omecron BV
and 45 percent by its local partner PT Dwi Satria Utama, has
invested about Rp 50 billion (US$17.24 million) since its
operation in Indonesia 25 years ago, Kirby said following the
official opening of the paint plant. (aly)