Mufflers from Purbalingga go national

Mufflers from Purbalingga go national

By Agus Maryono

PURBALINGGA, Central Java (JP): Pesayangan, a hamlet in
Purbalingga Lor village, Purbalingga subdistrict, Purbalingga
regency, is well-known among the Banyumas people as an automobile
exhaust pipe and muffler production center. Many of these local
exhaust pipes and mufflers are now sold nationwide.

Pesayangan is considered the home of muffler and exhaust pipe
makers and nearly every household in this hamlet is a producer.
Walk along the main road in Pesayangan and you are sure to hear
the clanging of iron being struck, emanating from places where
exhaust pipes are made.

Purbalingga exhaust pipes and mufflers can be found on many
luxury cars in the area, as the quality is comparable to those
made in a modern factory.

"Mufflers from Pesayangan are often made of stainless steel or
from used diesel oil drums," said Muhlis, 51, one of the hamlet's
muffler makers.

He told The Jakarta Post that stainless steel mufflers are
usually used by luxury cars and motorcycles. He also added that
there are two kinds of automobile exhaust pipes: branched and
branchless.

Muhlis, just like any other producer in Pesayangan, is proud
of his business because, as he put it, the business was
practically unaffected by the economic crisis, which is still
gripping the country. The reason for this is that the raw
materials needed to produce the product do not undergo a
significant price increase, he added.

Muhlis, who employs 31 local men to assist him, can make as
many as 60 stainless steel automobile mufflers a day. "Each
worker can make two of these types of mufflers a day," he said.

As for the branched type of exhaust pipe, he said that a
person could make one in two days.

Stainless automobile mufflers sell for between Rp 50,000
(regular model) and Rp 200,000 (branched and containing
fiberglass). In a shop, a muffler originally priced at Rp 200,000
sells for between Rp 300,000 and Rp 400,000, he added. As for
mufflers made of used diesel oil drums, they cost between Rp
20,000 and Rp 30,000 a piece.

Simple techniques

Regardless of the raw materials, mufflers are made in a simple
way. In the case of a stainless steel muffler, the first thing to
do is to cut the steel pipe into the desired size and then shape
it in accordance with the desired form.

Afterward it is refined with sandpaper and polished. "When
this part of a pipe has been completed, the muffler is prepared
from a stainless steel plate," said Muhlis, who added that he
buys stainless steel pipes in Jakarta by the kilo.

"The pipes I buy are usually three to four inches in size," he
said, adding that to make an ordinary automobile muffler a pipe
measuring 15 cm long and weighing between one and two kilograms
would be needed.

"I usually buy stainless steel pipes. A pipe measuring six
meters long and three inches wide will cost Rp 500,000," he said,
adding that a pipe of this length would be enough for 40 mufflers
to be later sold at Rp 50,000 a piece.

"That is the price of an ordinary automobile muffler. One with
stainless fiber as a variation will need some four kg of
stainless material," he said, adding that he would sell this
special muffler at Rp 200,000 a piece.

As for mufflers made of used diesel oil drums, one drum is
enough for five mufflers of the size suitable for an ordinary
Kijang van. A used diesel oil drum costs between Rp 20,000 to Rp
28,000, depending on its condition," said Muhlis, who usually
purchases used drums in Jakarta.

To make a muffler from a used drum is also simple. First, cut
this used drum in accordance with your needs. Each part will be
shaped and then welded. After it is refined with sandpaper, it is
ready as a muffler.

"We send our products all over the country, to such places as
Medan, Sulawesi, Bali, Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Riau and
Batam. The only province in Indonesia where our mufflers and
exhaust pipes are yet to be available is Irian Jaya," said
Muchlis again.

He said that in a month he would begin doubling the dispatch
of his products to other places. Each dispatch will be made up of
about two truckloads, 1,000 parts in all.

As for motorcycle exhaust pipes, he said that for one a
stainless steel pipe measuring one meter would be needed. The
material costs Rp 75,000. A finished product will sell at Rp
150,000.

"We also give a five-year guarantee to our products," said
Muchlis, whose turnover stands at some Rp 3 million a day on the
condition that all of his 32 employees can make 60 ordinary
stainless mufflers to be sold later at Rp 50,000 a piece.

"The amount of raw material depends on the orders that we
have. If there is an order for stainless steel mufflers, we will
make them," he said, adding that he had received many more orders
for stainless steel mufflers than for those made of used diesel
oil drums.