JAKARTA (JP): The government yesterday reorganized the 32 state plantation companies into nine groups in an attempt to make them more efficient.
Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah announced that the consolidation was designed to strengthen the companies role as "agents of development."
He suggested the integration of the companies processing units will lead to greater profits through the resultant economies of scale.
Sjarifudin also installed the new boards of directors of the nine groups.
Under the reorganization, PTP I (palm oil and rubber) was put under the management of Aceh group; PTP II and IX (palm oil, rubber, cocoa, tobacco and sugar) under North Sumatra (Sumut) I group; PTP III, IV and V (palm oil, rubber and cocoa) under Sumut II group; and PTP VI, VII and VIII (palm oil, rubber, cocoa and tea) under Sumut III group.
PTP X and XXXI (palm oil, rubber, cocoa, tea and sugar) under Lampung group; PTP XI, XII and XIII (palm oil, rubber, cocoa and tea) under West Java group; and PTP XV, XVI, XVIII, XIX, XXI, XXII and XXVII (sugar, rubber, cocoa, tea, coffee, cotton and tobacco) Central Java group.
PTP XX, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVI, XXIX (sugar, palm oil, rubber, cocoa, tea, coffee and cotton) under East Java group; and PTP XXVIII, XXXII and the state husbandry firm, PT Bina Mulya Ternak, (palm oil, rubber and animal husbandry) under South Sulawesi and Irian Jaya group.
Pending the completion of the merger process, the management of the groups will be assisted by caretaker directors.
Presidents
The new presidents of the plantation groups are Boediono Arismoenandar for Aceh group, Saibun Harahap for Sumut I, Djoharuddin for Sumut II, Koentadi Hadinoto for Sumut III, Sri Soetijadi for Lampung, RGS Soeria Danoeningrat for West Java, Bambang Sigit Pamekas Prakoeswa for East Java and Sjamsir for South Sulawesi and Irian Jaya.
Two new plantation groups have yet to be established by reorganizing plantation projects currently being developed in Riau, Jambi, West Sumatra and Kalimantan.
Sjarifudin said that different from the board of directors of the old plantation companies, the new management of the groups now includes a marketing director
"It is hard to imagine that such big companies had no marketing departments," he said.
The marketing of PTP products has so far been conducted by a Jakarta-based joint marketing office. Since the new managements now include a marketing director, it is most likely that the joint marketing office will be dissolved.(pwn)