Komatsu rolls out 7,500th excavator

Komatsu rolls out 7,500th excavator

JAKARTA (JP): PT Komatsu Indonesia, a joint-venture company
manufacturing heavy construction equipment, rolled out its
7,500th product yesterday and dispatched 25 hydraulic excavators
to Thailand.

Director General of Chemical Industry Sujata presided over the
ceremony at the company's industrial complex here.

"Komatsu Indonesia has exported 50 hydraulic excavators to
Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand thus far this year at a
total price of about US$4.3 million," vice president of the
company Budiardjo Sosrosukarto said.

He said that later this year the company is slated to export
150 hydraulic excavators and bulldozers worth $22 million to the
three neighboring countries, which used to import similar goods
from Japan.

Sujata said Indonesia's exports of heavy equipment are
expected to steadily increase from $37 million in 1994 to $125
million in 1999.

He said the country's production of heavy equipment increased
by 102 percent from 2,025 units in 1993 to 4,100 units in 1994
and is estimated to increase further to 5,000 units in 1995.

Budiardjo said his company increased the content of local
components in its products from 37 percent in 1992 to 43 percent
in 1995 and reduced Japanese-made parts from 63 percent to 52
percent over the same period.

"We are now also importing components from Italy, Brazil and
India, besides increasing local content, to reduce dependency on
imports from Japan," a company director, Suroso, told The Jakarta
Post after the ceremony.

The company's production increased significantly from 478
excavators and bulldozers in 1992 to 932 units in 1993 and to
1,079 units in 1994 and is projected to further increase to 1,460
units in 1995.

Production capacity

The firm's production capacity will is expected to double
from 1,200 units in 1994 to 2,400 units in 1997.

Komatsu Indonesia, which started production in August 1983,
will offer 32 million new shares with a nominal value of Rp 500
(22 U.S. cents) to the public next week.

The shares will be sold at Rp 2,100 (92 U.S. cents) each.

Budiardjo said the new shares would make up 23.53 percent of
the company's enlarged capital.

The remaining shares, after the public offering, will be owned
by Komatsu Ltd. of Japan (38.24 percent), Sumitomo Corp. of Japan
(6.88 percent), Marubeni Corp. of Japan (4.59 percent) and PT
United Tractors (26.76 percent). (kod)