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.