Kao Indonesia Chemicals invests US$50m to expand production
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- Published on Friday, 24 February 2012 00:46
INDONESIA – To meet increased demand for industrial products in Asia, Japan’s Kao Corporation is making an initial investment of US$49.88 million (¥4 billion) to construct a new facility in the suburbs of Jakarta, Indonesia, and expand its production facilities.
With construction of the new plant, PT Kao Indonesia Chemicals aims to enhance and expand its function as a supply base for surfactants in the Asian market. By increasing production of chemical products for various industries, the company is further promoting its chemical business in growth markets.
Located at Karawan International Industry City (KIIC), the new plant site covers about 120,000 square metres – double the production site area currently being used. Construction started in February 2012, and operations are scheduled to start from January 2013.
As part of this expansion, a new production facility for surfactants, Kao’s main chemical product, will be built to increase annual surfactant production capacity by about 50%. The new plant will produce surfactants used as raw materials for toiletries and chemical products for industrial use.
The transfer of all operations from the existing plant located at Tambun, a suburb of Jakarta, will be completed by the end of December 2014 and integrated with the new plant.
According to the Japanese company, demand for industrial products produced by Kao Indonesia Chemicals has been increasing for both domestic use and export, in line with Asian economic growth.
“While it is estimated that demand for chemical products for industrial use, including use in the toiletry fields, will further increase, the existing plant has nearly reached full operating capacity,” explained Kao.
“As the current plant site area is insufficient for future expansion, Kao Indonesia Chemicals decided to transfer its production base to KIIC. The new site was selected due to its advantageous location and favorable infrastructures in relation to future expansion of production facilities.”
Kao creates high-value-added products, including over 20 leading brands such as Asience, Attack, Bioré, Goldwell, Jergens, John Frieda, Kanebo, Laurier, Merries and Molton Brown in Asia, Oceania, North America and Europe. With about US$14.96 billion (¥1,200 billion) in annual sales. Kao employs about 35,000 people worldwide and has more than 120 years of history in innovation.
http://www.kao.com/group/en/group/
