IESC brings experience, knowledge to RI

IESC brings experience, knowledge to RI

By Dean Carignan

JAKARTA (JP): Every morning at 7:30, Walt Szczesiul leaves
home and commutes across Jakarta to his office at PT Pharos, much
like he did for 35 years in America working as a pharmaceuticals
expert. The difference is that Walt is not an employee with
Pharos; nor is he a consultant. He is a volunteer with the
International Executive Service Corps (IESC), a not-for-profit
organization dedicated to bringing American knowledge and
experience into businesses in developing nations.

IESC brings experienced men and women from American business,
many retired like Walt, to developing nations to serve as short-
term advisors for interested companies. These volunteers serve
tours of one to three months, and bring a lifetime of experience
to their host company.

IESC was founded in 1964 by David Rockefeller and others who
realized that economic development requires more than just money;
it takes training and the transfer of knowledge and skills by
people who have acquired expertise through decades of experience.

In the mid-60's, as President Kennedy's Peace Corps volunteers
were appearing in the towns and villages of the developing world,
IESC began bringing executives into the cities to give a boost to
fledgling businesses. Since then, IESC has completed over 17,000
successful projects in more than 120 countries worldwide.

The program was introduced in Indonesia in 1968, and has over
600 successful projects to its credit here. Recently, IESC's
Indonesia office has readjusted its focus to include projects
with a positive impact on the environment.

IESC advisors serve on a volunteer basis, receiving no salary.

"Their reward is a professionally enriching experience and the
opportunity to contribute to Indonesia's economic development,"
explains Jerry Hargitt, IESC's Managing Director for Indonesia.

The costs of an advisor's round-trip transportation from the
U.S., as well as administrative costs and living expenses while
in Indonesia, are calculated based on the host company's ability
to pay. The balance is subsidized by the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID). Small businesses, for example,
generally contribute only a small portion of their consultant's
expenses, while larger firms assume more of the costs.

USAID has funded IESC in Indonesia since the 1960s. "We're
pleased to fund IESC", says Jerry Barth of USAID in Indonesia,
"because the program supports two of USAID's primary goals:
promoting sustainable economic growth while protecting the
environment."

IESC is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, USA, where the
organization maintains a computerized "skills bank" of some
14,000 registered professionals ready to bring their experienced
to overseas businesses. When a company wishes to receive an
advisor, they first explain their specific needs to a local IESC
representative, who prepares a written description of the
assistance requested and faxes it to IESC headquarters for
recruiting through the skills bank or through "networking" in
that particular industry.

PT Pharos, for example, needed advice on how to expand their
pharmaceutical plant in an environmentally conscious manner, the
skills bank turned up Walt Szczesiul, whose background with
several American pharmaceutical giants made him a natural match.
Walt served a 3-month stint with Pharos in 1994, which proved so
fruitful that the company invited him back for another two
months.

IESC volunteers seem to have a lasting impact on their host
companies. "Our advisors are not here simply to fix a problem or
fill a position," says Jerry Hargitt. "They are here to teach and
to pass on the skills and knowledge that will allow the company
to operate effectively into the future, long after the volunteer
goes home."

Volunteers often maintain contact with their host companies
after returning to the United States, and many return for follow-
up projects.

Advantages

What makes the program effective?

"IESC has two comparative advantages," explains Hargitt. "One
lies in our ability to draw from a large pool of professionals in
every skill area of every industry and bring just the right
person in to do the job. The other is the symbiotic relationship
we have with USAID. Our objectives are complimentary and mutually
supportive. With their support and our skills bank, we can
readily assist Indonesian businesses."

A number of local success stories bear out this claim, among
them that of PT Sumi Asih, a major manufacturing operation
located in Bekasi Timur.

Sumi Asih produces industrial and USP grade fatty acids and
biodegradable soaps, a process that requires sizable intakes of
water. A year ago, Sumi Asih's operation was drawing over 1,300
tons of water per day from the area's deep aquifers. Deep
aquifers are the subsurface basins into which surface water seeps
and collects. A crucial source of clean water, these basins are
increasingly threatened by overdrawing in Indonesia's densely
populated regions.

B.K. Hadisoebroto, Plant Manager and Director of Sumi Asih and
a veteran hydrologist, recognized the environmental danger posed
by the plant's heavy demand on deep aquifers. He concluded that
the best way to reduce this demand would be to design a system to
treat surface water, making it usable in the plant's operations.
Hadisoebroto enlisted the aid of IESC for this task. A search of
IESC's skills bank turned up William R. Birchall, an American
chemical engineer with 40 years of experience in research,
engineering, processing and management.

Efficient

"We knew how to make the basic process work," says
Hadisoebroto, "but Mr. Birchall had the ability to modify the
basics and design innovations that made it even more efficient."

Birchall designed and helped install a system that treats
surface water, allowing PT Sumi Asih to reduce its daily deep-
water draw by an amount equivalent to that used daily by 7,000
families.

Birchall also worked with Sumi Asih to develop a more
effective process for removing waste products from processed
water. He designed a skimming system that provided a more
complete physical separation of waste. This system not only
prevented the discharge of dangerous wastes in to the surrounding
water systems, but allowed for the recovery of several solids --
crude palm oil and various hardened fatty acids -- that can be
recycled and contribute to Sumi Asih's production output.

Sumi Asih's new skimming system allows processed water to be
treated and retained for several days, sufficient time for
conversion of all wastes into safe materials suitable for use in
the wetland farming systems surrounding the plant.

Birchall also initiated a process in which the treated waste
is mixed with pure oxygen, a waste gas produced by the plant.
This process accelerates the rate of waste reduction, reducing
the required time of retention, and improves the quality of the
treated water, allowing increased growth of the crops cultivated
in the surrounding wetland.

"Everyone benefits in this scenario," explains Jerry Barth of
USAID. "The operation becomes more efficient, the environment is
protected, and the local community profits from the improved
ecology. PT Sumi Asih is an excellent example of how a small
investment of time and expertise can have a profound and lasting
effect. This is just the type of project that USAID seeks to
support in Indonesia."

IESC believes that sound environmental practices mean good
business. Several recent projects have shown how environmentally
conscious innovations can have a significant dollar-and cents
return to the company involved. PT Multi Nitrotama Kimia, for
example, assigned Walter Kanat to the project. Recognizing that
pollutants often result from inefficiencies in the manufacturing
process, Kanat performed an analysis of every phase of the
production line and recommended several modifications.

Amir Sulastiro, Multi Nitrotama Kimia's Technical and
Production Director, noted that the problems Kanat identified and
corrected significantly reduced the amount of free ammonia and
ammonium nitrates in the wastewater to the point that 90 percent
of previous losses were recovered for retention in the plant
product stream.

"Conservatively," said M. Tjahjo, MNK President Director, "we
estimate a saving of at least US$150,000 per year as a result of
this 90-day IESC project." Kanat plans to remain in contact with
MNK to provide assistance to further improve the firm's
operation.

Achievements like MNK's illustrate how the causes of economic
development and environmental preservation can be advanced
simultaneously with the proper skills and training.

"In the years ahead", says Hargitt, "IESC will continue to
assist Indonesian firms in their efforts to achieve this
complementarity, which is a crucial element of sustainable
development."