Metropolitan, Hitachi sign deal

Metropolitan, Hitachi sign deal

JP/afs

JAKARTA (JP): Japan's Hitachi Ltd has agreed to provide
technical assistance to PT Metropolitan Bayu Industri, an air
conditioner maker in Karawang, West Java.

Hitachi, under an agreement signed here yesterday, will
transfer its latest technology to Metropolitan Bayu's plant.

Metropolitan Bayu executive director John Budi Harjanto said
the plant, now under construction, would become Indonesia's first
air conditioner plant to produce air cooled chillers.

In the picture, Japan's Hitachi Ltd director Taketoshi
Yamauchi (right) received a sandalwood statue from PT
Metropolitan Bayu Industri's president director, Soekrisman
(left) after the signing of the technical agreement.

John said the country had many air conditioner factories but
they only produced split, window and central-system air
conditioners.

Air cooled chillers are an integrated air conditioning machine
for hotels, factories and high-rise buildings.

He said the plant, on two hectares at the Metropolitan
industrial complex, would initially produce 300 air cooled
chillers a year when it started production by the end of the
year.

It would also make 2,000 air cooled packaged units, 3,000 fan
coil units and 600 air handling units.

Metropolitan Bayu, which is 85 percent owned by Metropolitan
Group, plans to spend US$25 million on the plant.

He said that if the company performed well for five years
Hitachi would buy some of its shares and help distribute its
chillers to the region. The chillers would carry the Hitachi
trademark.

He said domestic demand for chillers was about 1,000 units a
year. Most are imported from America, Japan and Malaysia.

A chiller costs about Rp 150 million ($63,500). (jsk)