Dunlop tire manufacturer to build facility in Karawang, West Java

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Dunlop Aircraft Tyres which a tyre-manufacturing company in Birmingham, the UK, will partner with PT. Rubberman Indonesia to build a tire manufacturing and retread facility n Karawang, West Java with an initial investment value of around Rp1 trillion (about US$ 71,9 million).

“In the first phase, the retread facility is projected to be operational within 18 months. After that, they will build a tire manufacturing facility,” Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said here on Thursday (Nov 7), according to a report from the Government News Network (JPP).

Dunlop Aircraft Tyres is one of the global aircraft tire manufacturers with factory facilities in China to serve consumers in the Asia Pacific region.

Meanwhile, PT. Rubberman Indonesia is a retread tire industry which has more than 25 facilities in Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi.

Minister Agus said the investment plan was a good signal for Indonesia amid the global economic downturn, and also indicated that Indonesia was still one of the main destination countries for investment for world-class companies.

“One of the added-points of Indonesia, besides having a large domestic market, is the most important nation at the regional level. We hope that this investment can attract companies from Singapore and Malaysia to use our retread tire facility in Indonesia,” he explained.

The minister added, the investment in the construction of the aircraft tire manufacture had the potential to spur growth in the industrial sector and the national economy following the construction of several airports throughout Indonesia.

“Moreover, the aircraft industry has consistently grown by six percent over the past 10-20 years. So, the growth is stable because indeed the potential is huge,” he noted.

The new tire manufacturing facility will also streamline maintenance costs and retread of flight operators in the country. During this time the retread is made in China, Hong Kong and Thailand.

On the other hand, Indonesia, which is located in Asia Pacific has an opportunity to expand its retread businesses to Australian and New Zealand markets.

Reporting by Indonesia Window