INDONESIAN CONCRETE PILE INDUSTRY: ITS CONDITION AND PROSPECTS

The rapid growth of the construction sector in Indonesia has enabled the industry of concrete piles to continue developing. This can be seen from the fact that them are a lot of construction projects such as office buildings, apartment buildings, real estates, shopping centres, and overpasses currently underway. Such projects require concrete piles in large quantities. Meanwhile, the domestic industry of concrete piles has shown rapid output growth and is now operating nearly at its capacity level.

The installation of concrete piles at high-rise building projects poses a certain problem. Concrete piles are normally made and installed at the project site. This practice is time-consuming and costly, in addition to being risky, the practice of making concrete piles at the project site increases the personnel demand of the project in question because concrete piles can be made only by people with a special skill. In view of this, ready-for-use, high-quality concrete piles need to be made available.

One advantage of procuring ready-for-use concrete piles from a producer is that they are cheaper and, hence, the high-rise building project in question can save money. Another advantage is that such piles have guaranteed quality and their installation at the project site will not fail. In addition, their installation is a quick process which requires personnel in low quantities. So, a construction project which uses ready-or-use concrete piles can keep its operating expenses low.

This report discusses the population of concrete pile producers, their production capacities, and their actual production rates. In addition, it also discusses the industries which use concrete piles. This report ends with estimates of domestic concrete pile consumption for 1996 and projections of demand for the 1997-2001.

Concrete pile producers: their population and production capacities

According to a source with the Department of Industry and Trade, there are currently 36 companies dealing in the production of concrete piles and concrete electricity poles in Indonesia with a combined production capacity of 1,280,000 units per annum. However, only 20 of these companies are still in operations.

Generally, a concrete pile producer also turns out other concrete products. In terms of production capacities, the largest concrete pile producer in Indonesia is PT Wijaya Karya (WIKA) (316,000 units/annum). Operating under the supervision of the Department of Public Works, WIKA originated from a Dutch construction company called "Naamloze Vennootschaap Technische Handel Maattschappij en Bouwbedrif Vie en Co" (N.V. Vis en Co). In March 1960, N.V. Vis en Co was taken over by the Indonesian Government. In 1972, it changed its status into a limited-liability company and its name into PT Wijaya Karya (WIKA).

WIKA, which started off as a producer of concrete electricity poles, has managed to become the leading producer of precast concrete piles in Indonesia. Currently, WIKA operates 8 plants and they are located in West Java (Bogor and Cirebon), Central Java (Solo), East Java (Pasuruan), Lampung, North Sumatra (Medan), and South Sulawesi (Ujungpandang).

Besides concrete piles and concrete electricity poles, WIKA--a state enterprise based in Jakarta--also produces conncetors, railway concrete sleepers, railway concrete crossings, steel constructions, prestressed concrete pipe, mould & dies, hot dip galvanizing, and solar water heaters.

One of WIKA's leading products which has recently been introduced to the market is core type prestressed concrete pipe, which is produced in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi. This high-technology concrete pipe is a new product in Indonesia. WIKA's performance is internationally recognized by the London-based Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance (LRQA). This state enterprise has obtained eight ISO 9000 certificates of series 9001 and 9002.

Another outstanding concrete pile producer in Indonesia is PT Jaya Beton Indonesia (JBI) of the Jaya Group. This company produces concrete piles and concrete electricity poles at two plants, one in Medan (North Sumatra), and the other in Surabaya (Fast Java). Jointly owned by PT Pembangunan Jaya, Ir. Soekrisman, Ir. Ciputra, Ir, Hiskak Secakusuma, and a number of other individuals, this company also produces ready mixed concrete and centrifugal reinforced concrete pipes (hume pipes). In 1995, PT JBI--whose head office is located at Wisma Bisnis in Jakarta--turned out 66,987 units of concrete piles and 14,120 units of concrete electricity poles and booked Rp 27.5 billion in total sales.

Another concrete pile producer is PT Tonggak Ampuh, which produces conventional reinforced concrete piles and prestressed concrete piles and has an annual production capacity of 183,000 units. With its plant located in Bogor (West Java), PT Tonggak Ampuh also produces other concrete products such as conventional reinforced concrete beams for bridges, prestressed concrete beams for bridges, prestressed concrete sleepers for railways, reinforced concrete sleepers for railways, prefabricated concrete panels for houses, concrete pipes, concrete stakes, and concrete fences. TO facilitate deliveries of orders, PT Tonggak Ampuh also operates its own fleet of transportation vehicles.

PT Beton Megah Perkasa is another important concrete pile producer in Indonesia. With its plant located in Gowa (Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi), this company has the capacity to produce 32,000 units of concrete piles and 8,000 units of concrete electricity poles per annum.

PT Kalimantan Agung, which was established under the domestic investment (PMDN) scheme in Banjarmasin (South Kalimantan) in 1987, has the capacity to produce 24,000 units of concrete piles per annum. Meanwhile, PT Paramategak Beton Indonesia--whose plant is located in Jakarta--specializes in producing concrete piles for building construction purposes. This company commenced its operations in 1987.