Paper firm to raise output

JAKARTA (JP): PT Pabrik Kertas Leces, a state-owned paper firm in East Java, will procure new waste treatment machines at Rp 56 billion (US$25 million), which will help optimize the utilization of its production capacity, a company executive said.

"The Ministry of Finance and the National Development Planning Board have agreed to this project, which will be financed with a loan from the Overseas Economic Corporation Fund of Japan," the executive was quoted yesterday by Bisnis Indonesia as saying in Surabaya, East Java.

The company's production director, Gunawan, said the company has a production capacity of 180,000 tons per year but thus far it can produce only 160,000 tons a year.

With the planned operation of the new waste treatment machines, the company is expected to increase its annual production to 180,000 tons, Gunawan said.

He said the company has managed to reduce the portion of wood it uses in its raw materials to 30 percent from the previous 40 percent, while the other 60 percent is waste paper imported from the United States, Singapore and Australia. (31)