Tulip, a newcomer to the RI computer scene

Tulip, a newcomer to the RI computer scene

In conjunction with the appointment of a sole distributor in
Indonesia, Tulip Computers invited Hyginus Hardoyo of The Jakarta
Post on June 17 to June 20 to have a close look at its modern
computer plant in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. Following
are his reports.

'S-HERTOGENBOSCH, The Netherlands (JP): Tulip Computers, one
of Europe's major computer manufacturers, has joined other top
producers, ranging from IBM and Compaq to Acer, to tap the
steadily growing computer business in Indonesia.

The Netherlands-based computer manufacturer launched its sales
and marketing operations in Indonesia earlier this month in
partnership with PT Anugerah Lestaridata Computer (Aldcom), a
local company specializing in hardware and software distribution
networking.

Roelof Lambert, Tulip's marketing communications manager, said
the partnership with Aldcom as its sole distributor in Indonesia
is part of the Dutch company's market expansion into Asia.

"Although Europe is still the principal sales market for
Tulip, the promotion realization of growth outside Europe is one
of the main objectives," he said.

In addition to its sales organizations in 18 European
countries, the company has operated a regional head office in
Hong Kong since 1995 with representative offices in Beijing,
Shanghai and Shenzhen in China as well as in Singapore, he said.

The Singapore office, set up in November last year, is
responsible for the management and distribution of Tulip products
in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia.

The partnership with Aldcom will undertake network
consultancy, technical support and maintenance service for the
Indonesian market, chief executive officer of Tulip Computers
Asia, Hans Hartsuiker, said.

Tulip, which was established in 1979 by Franz Hetzenauer and
R.J. Romein, has strengthened its position as a leading developer
and manufacturer of microcomputer systems and network components
for the corporate market.

"The company has thus far been represented by over 60
distributors worldwide in countries where it does not have its
own sales office," Hartsuiker said.

He said his company had become a major hardware supplier and
network consultant of NATO, KLM, the Dutch Ministry of Finance,
Heineken and Lufthansa.

"In Asia its key corporate accounts include, among others,
Bank of China, San Miguel Brewing China Ltd., the Guangzhou Daily
and Business News Agency," Hartsuiker said.

Hetzenauer, who together with Romein is company president,
said that even though his company entered Asia only recently, it
was not too late.

Maturity

"We are not late as the Asian market is not yet mature despite
the existence of many major computer manufacturers. Costumers are
still looking for other good chances," he said. Based on such a
condition, Hetzenauer said, Tulip's entrance into the Asian
market was still timely.

He expressed confidence that Tulip would do well in Indonesia,
saying the company was doing well in China judging by the
increasing demand for Tulip products there.

He was also convinced that only companies capable of offering
their products and services worldwide would ultimately continue
to play a significant role in the computer industry.

The company's data show that Asia registered the highest level
in PC market growth last year with a rate of 26 percent, followed
by the United States with 14 percent and Europe 11 percent.

Aldcom's general manager, Tjandra Subagijo, said that in the
first two years Tulip computers targeted to have at least a 2
percent share in Indonesia's computer market, which reaches about
470,000 units per annum.

"We will focus only on the business market, not on home
application," he said.

Lambert said that Tulip, which is one of the three leading
computer brands in the Netherlands and among the top 20 in
Europe, manufactures and supplies an extensive hardware product
line, ranging from Pentium and Pentium with multimedia extensions
(MMX)-based desktops and notebooks to Dual Pentium Pro high-end
file servers. "It has also incorporated Pentium II into its
desktop range," he said.

In 1994, Tulip Computers was one of the first PC manufacturers
to add Plug and Play installation functionality, together with
Peripheral Component Interface (PCI) to its complete range of
desktop PCs. In 1996, the company again led the industry with its
introduction of Universal Serial Bus (USB) technology to its
entire range of Pentium desktops.

Tulip computers continued its technology integration in 1997
with the introduction of both MMX and Pentium II processors into
their Vision Line product range.

Tulip Computers Vision Line (desktop computers and servers)
and Motion Line (portable computers or notebooks) systems benefit
from preinstalled software, which ranges from Microsoft Windows
3.x, Windows 95 to Windows NT 4.0.

"Tulip also offers an extensive range of services such as
consultancy, project management, support, training, service and
maintenance providing a complete hardware solution," Lambert
said.

Motherboards

He explained that Tulip strived to design and manufacture its
own motherboards -- the real heart of the computers -- and sought
to differentiate its PCs from others on the market by providing
the highest level of component integration.

"This saves corporate clients from purchasing additional cards
and facilitates timely incorporation of new technologies such as
USB, PCI and Desktop Management Interface," he said.

He claimed that each Tulip PC has a motherboard suited to that
specific PC. This is different from other major computer
manufacturers which create a general purpose motherboard with
lots of option slots that must then be configured for each PC by
the addition of extra cards.

Lambert said his company, which operates its own manufacturing
complex built at a cost of over US$51 million with a production
capacity of about 500,000 computer sets annually, had made
changes in its production process from the "build-to-stock" to
the more flexible "build-to-customer-order".

"We make products only if the customers achieve more and
improve their productivity. We produce the products that our
customers ask for and we serve our clients the way they want us
to," he said.

New technologies go into new products only if it makes them
better products and if it is what a customer would appreciate, he
said.

Another significant modification is from flow-production to
cell-production, which allows one employee to assemble an entire
computer ensuring a faster, more efficient, responsible and
flexible production process.

He said that Tulip, which has more than 700 employees, has
special marketing relations with quality suppliers such as
American Power Conversion, Exabyte, Intel Corp, Microsoft Corp,
Novell Inc. Santa Cruz Operation and 3Com.

"By working closely with these innovative partners,
complimentary products can be selected and developed for Tulip
costumers. For example, the Tulip Ware Server Edition software is
jointly developed by Tulip and Novell," he said.