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Russian Uraltrac equipment
to enter Indonesia
 Minang Jordanindo, an Indonesian -Jordanian
joint venture company, invited a group of Indonesian
journalists, including The Jakarta Post's
Vincent Lingga,
to witness the signing of its business deals and visit the
the 220-hectare Uraltrac industrial complex in Chelyabinsk
in the last week of May on the occasion of Uraltrac's 75th
anniversary celebration on June 1.
ChTZ Uraltrac Ltd, one of Russia's largest manufacturers of
tractors, bulldozers, pipelayers and engines, will soon
enter Indonesia in an attempt to break into the heavy
equipment market, which is now dominated by Komatsu,
Caterpillar and Hitachi.
Uraltrac's 10-ton capacity B10MB bulldozer is
now on its way to Sangata, Kutai Timur regency, in East
Kalimantan. The 25-ton capacity D320 and 106-ton T-800
bulldozers will follow a few months later to meet the demand
boom fueled by sky-high commodity prices.
The units will form the first batch of heavy
equipment ordered by PT Minang Jordanindo, which also plans
to eventually assemble several types of Uraltrac equipment
in E. Kalimantan that has now become one of the world's
largest coal producers and a major oil palm plantation
center.
Minang Jordanindo, an Indonesian-Jordanian
joint venture company, invited a group of Indonesian
journalists, including The Jakarta Post's Vincent Lingga, to
witness the signing of its business deals and visit the
220-hectare Uraltrac industrial complex in Chelyabinsk in
the last week of May on the occasion of Uraltrac's 75th
anniversary celebration on June 1.
The following is his report :
The mining and agricultural commodity market
boom since the second half of 2006, combined with massive
infrastructure development projects, started it all.
The demand for heavy equipment has become so
strong that buyers often wait up to one year for delivery
from traditional suppliers in the United States and Japan,
but have to pay in advance to secure delivery.
This was the opportunity that prompted Minang
Jordanindo, which has a long experience in reconditioning
and selling used heavy equipment, to seek new suppliers.
Hence, emerged Uraltrac, virtually unknown in
Indonesia, but one of Russia's largest manufacturers of
heavy equipment and a long-time major supplier in East
Europe, Africa, the Middle East and several Asian and Latin
American countries.
"I realize it is an uphill challenge to bring
in this new brand to our highly competitive market, but I
see a great opportunity not only because Uraltrac guarantees
deliveries within three to four months but most importantly
due to its strong commitment to transfer technology," said
Bonny Z. Minang, chairman of Minang Jordanindo.
The contract between Uraltrac and Minang
Jordanindo was one of the four trade and investment deals
between Russian and Indonesian companies signed in Jakarta
early last September in the presence of then President
Vladimir Putin and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
So highly confident have been Minang Jordanindo
and Uraltrac that they have even started planning a
joint-venture assembly plant despite having yet to make the
first equipment delivery.
"In so far as our relationships with Uraltrac
are concerned, Minang Jordanindo is not a mere dealer in the
real sense of the word. We have gained Uraltrac's commitment
to transfer technology through training and investment right
from the outset of our talks," Bonny added.
He said Minang Jordanindo had prepared a
30-hectare plot of land on the bank of the Mahakam river in
Kutai for its assembly plant and training center complex.
Uraltrac's chief executive officer Valeriy
Platonov acknowledged that ChTZ brand name was still unknown
in Indonesia's heavy equipment market, but he asserted his
products have been quite popular in more than 30 countries
for their high technical performance, relatively low prices
and the reliability of repair service support and
availability of spare parts.
"We are the first to manufacture
diesel-electric tractors, which can secure a high technical
performance and guarantee a steady, continuous power supply.
Yet, most important, we always commit to excellence in all
our products ," Platonov said.
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