Steel firm to raise output

JAKARTA (JP): Steel pipe manufacturer PT KHI Pipe Industries, a subsidiary of state-owned PT Krakatau Steel Group, plans to increase its output to 54,000 tons next year, from 50,000 tons this year.

"We plan to raise our production level to 54,000 tons a year in the next year due to growing demand in the domestic market, thanks to the swift recovery in the country's steel pipe market," company spokesperson Ferra Febrina said on Friday, adding that the company had an installed capacity of 120,000 tons per year.

The company mainly sells its products on the domestic market but also exports to Japan, India, Australia, Singapore, Iran and the United States.

This year, the company targets to export about 15,000 tons of steel pipes.

The company also said it had exported 4,500 tons of steel pipes to Malaysia in the middle of the year after winning a contract worth US$1.5 million through an international tender process.

Each of the steel pipes measured 65 meters in length, making them "the longest pipes ever made in this country or overseas," KHI's commercial director M. Safriudin said. (dmr)