Interview with Mr Hendrik Setiawan of Pumarin, Indonesia

Export | Joint Ventures

Pumarin | Mr Hendrik Setiawan

Indonesia is now one of the top ten marble producers in the world and we offer comparable quality as well as competitive pricing Mr Hendrik Setiawan, President Director
Since the establishment of PT Pumarin as a leading marble trading and production company in 1990, how has the company’s strategy for the local and international market evolved over the years? The company was officially established in 1990 as a family business and in 1996 became part of the Media Group. At that time we explored new opportunities for quarries in South Sulawesi. Our main export market used to be Australia given the high level of interest in our marble from the Bandung quarry due to the colour. Previously around 85% of our products were exported to Australia. We then developed our marble quarry in Makassar, Sulawesi which has two or three different marble variants which are now exported all over the world, including to South East Asia, countries in South Asia such as Bangladesh, countries in the Middle East such as Iraq, UAE and Kuwait, as well as North America. We are now trying to develop more in the Middle Eastern market, with a particular focus on Saudi Arabia. The domestic Indonesian market is also very promising for commercial and residential buildings so we have a strong presence locally too. At the moment, 60% of our market is for export and 40% is for domestic consumers. However, in the case of our Bandung quarry our export market accounts for around 90% of the total market. What new products or innovations are you planning to introduce for the future? We have plans to diversify and produce calcium carbonate later this year (2013). Calcium carbonate has a wide variety of uses such as for PVC production, light concrete and for ceramic tiles in Indonesia. We see a lot of potential in the export market for this product as well. We will also open two new quarries in Makassar and expand our factory there to increase production by 50%.	How is the company positioned towards working with international partners and investors to expand your local and international market share? We are interested in joint ventures as we have many licenses to develop further quarries in Makassar, Sulawesi. We already worked with a Chinese partner in this way in 2006. What we are most interested in is capital investment from a partner as we have the knowledge and the technology for marble extraction. Our capacity this year has increased by 50% so we already use the most efficient technologies available in the market. We are also very interested in entering into the property sector and so this would be another area for potential cooperation. Marble has many uses in Indonesia and globally. It can be a risky business as it is a natural product so you do not know the quality until you cut the stone. Therefore potential partners that we work with would need to keep this in mind and have a long term view of the market. What would be your final message to potential partners and investors in Indonesia’s marble sector? As a company we focus on quality and excellent internal management. Indonesia now offers a lot of opportunities as the economy has strengthened, creating more business opportunities for us to take advantage of. Indonesia is very strong in marble; for other industrialised products people normally go to China but not for marble. Rather, China comes to us. This is a competitive advantage for the country. Indonesia is now one of the top ten marble producers in the world and we offer comparable quality as well as competitive pricing.

Indonesia is now one of the top ten marble producers in the world and we offer comparable quality as well as competitive pricing

Mr Hendrik Setiawan, President Director

Since the establishment of PT Pumarin as a leading marble trading and production company in 1990, how has the company’s strategy for the local and international market evolved over the years?

The company was officially established in 1990 as a family business and in 1996 became part of the Media Group. At that time we explored new opportunities for quarries in South Sulawesi.

Our main export market used to be Australia given the high level of interest in our marble from the Bandung quarry due to the colour. Previously around 85% of our products were exported to Australia. We then developed our marble quarry in Makassar, Sulawesi which has two or three different marble variants which are now exported all over the world, including to South East Asia, countries in South Asia such as Bangladesh, countries in the Middle East such as Iraq, UAE and Kuwait, as well as North America. We are now trying to develop more in the Middle Eastern market, with a particular focus on Saudi Arabia.

The domestic Indonesian market is also very promising for commercial and residential buildings so we have a strong presence locally too. At the moment, 60% of our market is for export and 40% is for domestic consumers. However, in the case of our Bandung quarry our export market accounts for around 90% of the total market.

What new products or innovations are you planning to introduce for the future?

We have plans to diversify and produce calcium carbonate later this year (2013). Calcium carbonate has a wide variety of uses such as for PVC production, light concrete and for ceramic tiles in Indonesia. We see a lot of potential in the export market for this product as well.

We will also open two new quarries in Makassar and expand our factory there to increase production by 50%.

How is the company positioned towards working with international partners and investors to expand your local and international market share?

We are interested in joint ventures as we have many licenses to develop further quarries in Makassar, Sulawesi. We already worked with a Chinese partner in this way in 2006. What we are most interested in is capital investment from a partner as we have the knowledge and the technology for marble extraction. Our capacity this year has increased by 50% so we already use the most efficient technologies available in the market.

We are also very interested in entering into the property sector and so this would be another area for potential cooperation.

Marble has many uses in Indonesia and globally. It can be a risky business as it is a natural product so you do not know the quality until you cut the stone. Therefore potential partners that we work with would need to keep this in mind and have a long term view of the market.

What would be your final message to potential partners and investors in Indonesia’s marble sector?

As a company we focus on quality and excellent internal management. Indonesia now offers a lot of opportunities as the economy has strengthened, creating more business opportunities for us to take advantage of. Indonesia is very strong in marble; for other industrialised products people normally go to China but not for marble. Rather, China comes to us. This is a competitive advantage for the country. Indonesia is now one of the top ten marble producers in the world and we offer comparable quality as well as competitive pricing.

Global Business Guide Indonesia - 2014