Rockwool plant starts commercial operation

CIKAMPEK, W. JAVA (JP): PT Nichias Rockwool Indonesia, the first rockwool producer in the country, has started commercial operation with a full production capacity of 4,800 tons per year.

"The operation of this plant at full capacity from the beginning shows that the demand for rockwool is increasing rapidly," Director General of Metal, Machinery and Chemical Industries Effendi Sudarsono said here yesterday when he dedicated the rockwool plant.

Sudarsono noted that Indonesia's domestic demand for rockwool is 5,000 tons per year. It will increase in line with the growing number of high-rise buildings and industrial plants.

Rockwool, which is made of minerals -- ironslag, pyrophilate and phenolresin -- is a product designed to be heat- and fire- proof and sound-tight. The minerals are fused into anorganic fibers through the process of centrifugal force spin.

To produce 4,800 tons of rockwool, the plant needs 120,000 tons of ironslag -- still imported from Japan -- 50,000 tons of pyrophilate and 12,000 tons of phenolresin per year.

The products of Nichias Rockwool include MG felt, MG mighty cover, MG wired blanket, MG lath board, MG mighty roll and MG elbow cover.

Sudarsono pointed out that 20 percent of the company's production will be exported, while the other 80 percent will be sold on the domestic market.

He said that the plant's operation will help Indonesia save about $8 million per annum from imports.

He said that because demand for rockwool is rising, the company will also increase its capacity, particularly in making products for high-rise buildings.

Sudarsono at yesterday's occasion also witnessed the departure of the company's first export to Malaysia. The export volume was 12 tons at a value of $24,000.

Nichias Rockwool was established in March 1995 by Nichias Corporation of Japan with an investment of $9.5 million. It is the first rockwool plant set up outside of Japan. (13)