Japan to train auto part makers

Japan to train auto part makers

JAKARTA (JP): A group of five Japanese auto experts will
provide technical support to local small- and medium-scale auto
component makers under a two-year project, an executive said on
Thursday.

Mohammad Husni Banjar, director of the project, said that the
visiting experts would train the component makers to help improve
product quality.

"The project is aimed at assisting local auto parts' suppliers
to enhance their competitiveness on the international market,"
Banjar told reporters at a media briefing following the
inauguration ceremony for the project.

The project, dubbed the Automotive Expert Dispatch Scheme for
Indonesia (AEDSI), is being organized jointly by the Japanese and
Indonesian automotive industries in cooperation with both
countries' governments.

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers' Association (JAMA) and the
Japan Auto Parts Industries' Association (JAPIA) are providing
the expertise using a financing scheme from the Japan Overseas
Development Corporation (JODC).

JAMA's Singapore chief representative Hiroyuki Nakamura said
their experts would help the country's auto parts' suppliers to
bring their products up to international standard.

"Our experts will assist them in the areas of productivity,
management, quality improvement, cost reduction, labor
management, and part-making procedures," Nakamura said in his
speech.

Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Auto Parts'
Industries (GIAMM) A. Safiun welcomed the scheme, saying that the
technical assistance was needed by local auto parts' makers to
upgrade their competitiveness ahead of trade liberalization in
the Southeast Asian region.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has agreed
to liberalize trade among member countries in 2002 by reducing
import tariffs on various products, including vehicles.

According to Safiun, the country's auto parts' exports stood
at US$525 million last year, while domestic sales reached Rp 300
billion.

Banjar said that there were 30 suppliers who had already
registered to participate in the program.

"But due to the limited time available, the Japanese experts
will only assist nine auto parts' suppliers up until the end of
January 2002," he said.

"The program may be extended if there is a strong demand from
the auto parts' suppliers," he concluded.(dmr)