| Commitment to a growth strategy that revolves around value-added quality, reliability and competitive prices is the key to success for PT Susilia Indah Synthetic Fibers Industries (PT Sulindafin). Suresh Khurana, Director of PT Sulindafin talks to ATA Journal in Jakarta |
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| Suresh Khurana |
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PT Sulindafin is the flagship company of Shinta Group, a leading integrated textile group in Indonesia. Established in 1978, PT Sulindafin pioneered in the manufacture of polyester (POY) in Indonesia. Together with its associate companies of Shinta Group, it supplies a wide range of synthetic fibers and yarns in polyester, nylon and various blends.
Currently, the company has a wide range of products of synthetic fibers such as polyester chips, polyester staple fibers, polyester filament yarns, polyester textured yarns, nylon filament yarns, nylon textured yarns, ring spun yarns and their blends. It produces a variety of specialty and performance yarns including micro filament, bi-shrinkage, moisture-absorbent, anti-bacterial and flame-retardant yarns.
As one of the leading synthetic fiber manufacturers in Indonesia, its products are marketed in domestic as well as export markets with a workforce of over 2,000 employees. It supplies about 10% of the domestic market share in synthetic fiber products, and exports around 35% of its production to more than 25 countries in five continents. Through a continuous process of re-investment, PT Sulindafin draws on the latest technologies from internationally leading engineering companies from Europe and Japan (e.g. Zimmer, Rieter Scragg and Oerlikon Barmag in Europe; Teijin Seiki and Murata in Japan).
ATA: Established over two decades for now, what is the strategy of PT Sulindafin to stay competitive in the market?
Mr Khurana: Our strategies are maintaining quality, controlling costs and focusing on customer satisfaction.
We are facing a stiff competition not only from domestic producers but also international players particularly from India and China. To attract and retain good customers, you have to deliver better-quality products at a reasonable price.
It is very difficult to maintain our survival if we only produce regular products. Price is a critical factor in this business. Production cost has to be controlled without sacrificing quality in order to be able to offer reasonable selling prices to our customers. Customer satisfaction is the core of our business philosophy, and in line with this fundamental belief, we strive to deliver products of exceptional quality to best meet our customers' needs.
ATA: In the face of fiercer competition mentioned, how does the firm position itself?
Mr Khurana: Our capacity is not very large and hence we cannot play on volume. Therefore, we developed products with value-added quality for premium segments. We produce a range of specialized fibers and yarns for apparel end-uses as well as for the home furnishing and automobile sectors. We have commercialized and trademarked five groups of specialized products. These fibers and yarns offer functional value including natural feel and properties of moisture absorbency, flame retardancy and anti-bacteria.
SulCool, for example, is a polyester fiber with excellent moisture absorbency and wicking capabilities. It has wicking properties far superior to regular polyester and other man-made or natural fibers including cotton. It is able to meet customers' requirement for enhanced performance, often found in active lifestyle apparel.
The best part is that we are able to offer this technology at attractive prices compared with competing brands.
PT Sulindafin develops a variety of functional manmade fibers such as moisture absorbency |
ATA: How about cost controlling, which may be even more crucial at times like the current economic climate?
Mr Khurana: Cost reduction is the key to maintain our prices at a competitive and reasonable level. We do believe that only efficient companies will survive this era of globalization.
Efficiency has to be applied in every field of business, and production process and energy are two most important factors. PT Sulindafin, therefore, restructured some of its machinery using more advanced technology and changed over to natural gas, which is a cleaner and cheaper source of energy. This has resulted in cost reduction and improved efficiency.
ATA: What are the future plans? Is the firm planning to expand?
Mr Khurana: PT Sulindafin will stay focused to remain as a quality producer rather than volume producer.
We have been at the forefront of Indonesia's polyester and nylon industry. We have placed ourselves as a key quality player in the global marketplace and we hope to maintain this position.
Our current production capacity is 220 ton/day of polyester and 20 ton/day of nylon. Presently, we do not have any major capacity expansion plans. We will continue to regenerate our existing plant and equipment with newer technology, and our research and development will continuously work on new product development and enhancement.
ATA: There are numerous free-trade agreements (FTAs) signed by the government. Do they help to bring positive impact to your business?
Mr Khurana: In the globalization era, FTAs are a two-sided sword.
On one hand, they allow us to penetrate deeply in the markets abroad, and on the other, our competitors in foreign countries are also having better access to our domestic market.
The FTA between the ASEAN and China, for example, is surely going to have an adverse impact on our domestic market in the short-term as Indonesian imports of garment from China will get a boost. It will cut down the demand on fabrics in domestic market (as domestic apparel production reduces) and finally will result in reduced demand for yarns and fibers as well.
However, Indonesian producers will also be able to boost their exports to China. At PT Sulindafin, we are looking at this positive side of the FTAs. We will continue to remain focused on quality and customer service to stay ahead of competitors.
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