PT Semen Padang Urged To Be Ready For Competition In Asean

Padang, W Sumatra, March 14 (Antara) - PT. Semen Padang has been urged to prepare itself to compete at the ASEAN level in marketing their products in the face of Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA). With the implementation of AFTA 2015, PT. Semen Padang as the oldest cement factory in Indonesia should have a better competitive edge not only at domestic level but also at ASEAN level by penetrating their markets, Chairman of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) Irman Gusman said during his visit to that factor, here, on Thursday. He made the statement on this in his meeting with the factory`s board of directed during his visit to that factory. According him, PT Semen Padang only had two years to go in the face of the implementation of AFTA and the most important to be prepared is how to improve the competitive edge. This company should map their position to enable it to compete in South Asian region. Let alone, at present a deficit in production of this national cement factory is in still existence approximately seven tons per year, so that the import of some raw materials is unavoidable. This actually come up as an opportunity and challenges the company has to deal with in improving its competitive edge, he said. He also challenged the factory�s board of directors to be able to produce around 25 million tons per year with 10,000 employees in 2015. In the meantime, President Director of PT Semen Padang Munadi Arifin said in 2012 the company`s production of cement stood at 6.5 million tons, with four factories operated. In 2013, the cement production is targeted at 6.5 million tons with targeted sales of about 7.1 million tons in which the shortfall is to be taken from the group and import, he opined. Furthermore, he stressed that the market absorption of PT. Semen Padang covered the region of West Sumatra, Riau, Jambi and surrounding regions, the percentage of which was only 40, so that it meant there was another 60 percent of chance still available that had not yet been capitalized. Therefore, PT. Semen Padang has a plan to augment its capacity of production by building Indarung factor VI, the construction of which will be done this year.