The history: From coffee to Office Park...

The history: From coffee to Office Park...

Over a cup of freshly brewed aromatic Robusta coffee, Oesman
Soedargo, the Chairman, and Mansjur Tandiono, the President, of
the Prasidha Group, shared their thoughts, ideas and vision for
the future of one of the largest agricultural commodity
processors and exporters in Indonesia.

Soedargo has played an active role in developing the growth of
coffee exports, as a member of the Indonesian delegation in the
International Coffee Organization and the Association of Coffee
Producing Countries. He is currently Vice Chairman of the
Association of Indonesian Coffee Exporters and Chairman of the
Indonesian Pepper Exporters Association.

Mansjur Tandiono, a close associate and business partner, is
Head of the Compartment for Promotion of coffee exporters, in
addition to being the Deputy General Chairman of the Indonesian
Animal Feedstuff Producers & Exporters Association.

Small beginnings

Soedargo recalled that it was in 1984 when four shareholders,
namely Mansjur Tandiono, I Gede Subratha, Haji Machmud Uding and
himself, of one of the business houses in Jakarta, realized the
importance of the words "cooperation is strength." This indeed
was the key factor which prompted them to break away from the
mainstream and reach for their goal of "Prasidha" which is
synonymous with "success." They were, individually, held in high
esteem by the business community as commodities traders, and
together their vision, strength and determination led to the
creation of the Prasidha Group.

Prasidha entered the business world as coffee traders, but
later expanded into other agricultural commodities as well, such
as crumb rubber, black pepper, tapioca, cocoa, yellow maize,
nutmeg and vanilla. All of these commodities were handled through
its trading division. And it was not long until the group
diversified into other ventures, creating new divisions to handle
new businesses, such as manufacturing, financial institution,
plantation, and real estate, Oesman Sudargo said.

Last year its trading division was consolidated, and Prasidha
Aneka Niaga was established as the operational holding company,
controlling seven subsidiaries specializing in different
commodities trading. Afterwards, this company went public,
selling part of its shares through the Jakarta Stock Exchange and
Surabaya Stock Exchange. Last year its turnover reached a new
record of about US$400 million, 90 percent of which came from
exports.

The group's strength lies in coffee, which contributes 70
percent of Prasidha Aneka Niaga's income. Its coffee exports last
year reached 110,000 tons, amounting to about 38 percent of
Indonesia's total coffee exports, according to Mansyur Tandiono.

However, in the words of Prasiddha Aneka Niaga's president,
"We are not just a trading firm. We believe in value added
processing and upgrading the raw materials to international
standards for export". Prasidha Aneka Niaga's concentration in
the future is on downstream production, he added.

The group's manufacturing arm was consolidated into PT Dasa
Windu Agung, which started with a polyurethane factory,
manufacturing mainly car components out of polyurethane and
plastics. It caters to local demands, namely Daihatsu and Suzuki.
A tuna canning factory has also been established in Gempol, East
Java, in collaboration with Japanese partners Itochu, Hagoromo
and Jaido. Its export market includes Europe, Japan, the USA and
the Middle East, with sales amounting to US$18 million last year.

Financial institution

Social awareness and concern for the welfare of the people of
Indonesia is one of Prasidha's prime concerns. The Prasidha Bank
in Jakarta, as well as its branches, assist home buyers in
purchasing estate houses by providing bank loans. It focuses on
planning and building affordable housing to meet the needs and
demands of the middle income class.

Local banks, Bank Perkreditan Rakyat, have been established in
Palembang and Lampung, to assist local suppliers as well as the
general population in those areas. Plans are underway to merge
the banking activities for smoother operations.

Real Estate

The beginning of the Real Estate Division can be traced back
to 1985. Soedargo and Tandiono, apart from their expertise in
coffee, were involved in the real estate business as well.

Prasidha's Real Estate activities began in 1986, in Surabaya,
and in 1987, in Palembang. In Jakarta its projects include the
Juanda Utama office building, Prima Indah Estate and Kebon Jeruk
Indah housing estate. In Surabaya it became known by its projects
such as the Basuki Rachmat office building and shop residences,
the Kenjeran Permai Housing, Jagalan office building and shop
residences, the Sutoredjo Indah Housing and Sutoredjo Prima Indah
Housing, while in Palembang they constructed the Bukit Besar
Housing complex.

The group has also been involved in general construction
projects, namely buildings and roads. The prestigious
construction work of Indonesia's major oil company in Gresik,
Pertamina, has been undertaken by this group. Factory building
projects are a recent addition to its range of activities.

The Plantation Division was set up to sustain a consistent
supply of high quality raw materials for producing superior
quality instant coffee. A coffee plantation was opened in
Bengkulu, Sumatra, to produce Arabica coffee, and another
plantation was added to produce Robusta coffee.

Articles in this section are written by Sheila Natesan.