Texmaco trucks to make debut in February

SUBANG, West Java (JP): Publicly listed PT Texmaco Perkasa Engineering, a unit of the Texmaco Group, will launch its Perkasa trucks in February 1999 despite the hobbled automotive business.

The company said here on Monday that 300 Perkasa trucks, produced by automotive subsidiary PT Perkasa Heavyndo Engineering, would be unveiled at the launching.

Despite the market slump, the company targets to produce up to 2,000 trucks of various types in 1999, including the ST Light, 10T Medium, 17T Medium and 40T Heavy Duty.

Texmaco Group chairman Marimutu Sinivasan said the company had secured a government order for 1,000 trucks for the general election scheduled in June 1999.

"Yes, the government has ordered about 1,000 trucks to be used as operational vehicles for the general election next year," Sinivasan told journalists.

He said the trucks would have 85 percent local content and would sell for 30 percent less than similar imported models.

Heavyndo will eventually increase its annual production capacity to 50,000 trucks.

Heavyndo obtained technology from Leyland of Britain, particularly in the development of lightweight trucks, and from Steyr of Austria for heavy-duty trucks.

In addition, the company has also forged cooperation with world renowned technology leaders such as Commins of the United States for engines, ZF of Germany for gears and transmissions and Eaton of the United States for axles.

Sinivasan said Heavyndo would also produce commercial vehicles, which dominate automobile sales in the country.

Heavyndo has supplied auto parts for local automotive assembling companies, including General Motors, in Indonesia.

With its automotive business, Texmaco Perkasa Engineering -- listed on the Jakarta Stock Exchange since 1993 -- has built an integrated engineering industry, from castings to machine tools and from machinery manufacturing to fabrication.

It operates two casting foundries at its Kaliwungu unit in Central Java. The second foundry, with an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons of Grey and SB iron castings, was commissioned in the latter half of 1997.

Its machine tools division currently produces conventional and computerized numerically controlled lathes, milling, drilling and boring machines.

The company is also engaged in heavy engineering. Its heavy fabrication facility handles fabrication and machining jobs of up to 250 tons in weight, eight meters in diameter and 25 meters in length, with annual capacity of 18,000 tons.

The core of the company's business is in textile machinery. It produces spinning, preparatory, weaving and processing machinery to produce yarn, weave and convert it into finished fabrics. It claims to be the largest manufacturer of textile machinery in the country.

The Texmaco Group, founded in 1958 and headquartered in Jakarta, is one of the largest business groups, employing over 20,000 people throughout the country.

Its main lines of business are textiles, chemical, engineering and finance. (29)