Good News From Indonesia

Kabar cukup mengejutkan datang dari TNI Angkatan Laut. Dikabarkan bahwa kapal canggih terbaru produksi dalam negeri, X3K Trimaran (produksi PT Lundin di Banyuwangi) akan segera menjadi salah satu kapal perang di jajaran TNI Angkatan Laut.  Secara keseluruhan, TNI AL memesan 5 unit kapal jenis ini, untuk memperkuat armadanya melakukan patroli laut.

Kapal X3K adalah kapal dengan 3 hulls, berkecepatan 40 knot, dan mampu membawa peluru kendali yang bisa menjangkau 120 km. Jika proyek pengadaan ini berhasil maka ini merupakan sejarah bagi Indonesia karena telah berhasil membuat kapal perang dengan komposit serat karbon, dan ini akan dipatenkan dan diekspor ke luar negeri, begitu kata Wakil Menteri Pertahanan Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin. 

Bandingkan dengan kapal boat di sebelahnya (alutsista.blogspot.com)

Masih menurutnya, ini merupakan kapal `Trimaran` pertama yang dibuat dari serat karbon. Amerika Serikat pernah membuat kapal sejenis dengan panjang 120 meter namun dari bahan alumunium atau baja. Komposit serat karbon juga telah digunakan untuk pembuatan pesawat Boeing-777 dan mobil formula 1. Ketahanannya 20 kali lebih kuat dibandingkan baja.

Masuknya kapal baru ini tentu saja menambah percaya diri saya, sebagai warga negara biasa, bahwa TNI AL bisa menjaga wilayah laut Indonesia dengan lebih baik lagi.  Bukan apa-apa, dalam waktu yang hampir bersama, TNI AL juga akan membeli 3 kapal selam jenis terbaru dari Korsel.

Bravo, TNI AL

(credit : Antara)

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TNI Commander describes the process of purchasing defense equipment was carried out in II year strategic plan 2010-2014. Meanwhile, Commander of the explanation is related to the question among members of Commission I of the House regarding the plan to the Air Force buy the Super Tucano aircraft to be placed in the squadron of 14 Madison and the Navy plans to buy fast patrol boats. “The TNI AU has proposed budget and its support for the purchase of as many as 16 units to one squadron,” he said.

Related efforts to empower strategic industry for national defense, according to the TNI chief, the institute also plans to involve or PT Dirgantara Indonesia cooperation in various matters relating to training, guarantee the availability of spare parts, the percentage of local content and technology transfer.

About the purchase of fast patrol boats, the TNI chief said that according to II-year strategic plan 2010-2014, the Navy has budgeted the purchase of Quick Ship Missile trimaran with a length of 60 meters and Fast Ship Missiles along 40 meters. “Both are products of private industry nationwide,” said Commander of the TNI.

In a meeting led by Chairman of Commission I Aziz Stamboel (FPKS), was also attended by Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, the TNI chief of staff and Deputy Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin.

North Sea Boats X3K Trimaran

Dimensions :

Length (over all) : 55 meter
Beam : 16 meter
Draught : 2 meter
Main engine : 4 x C32 Caterpillar
Max speed : 40 Knots
Range : 2000 nm
Displacement : 130 tons

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In the middle of nowhere Swedish John Lundin and his Indonesian wife Lizza is designing and producing high speed boats for patrolling and to ambush pirates with the help of some of the world’s sharpest brains in designing speedy boats. The latest project is a gigantic trimaran 60 metres long with the speed of around 150 kilometres per hour. The details are still covered as military secrets but the Swede lift as much of the curtains as he can in this feature.

John Lundin belongs to a boat building family. When he was in his mid twenties the family’s five shipyards in Sweden and Norway “Swede Ship Group” went bankrupt and Johns farther Allan Lundin got cancer.

In all that mess the young man went to Indonesia out of all places, sold two boats, and obviously more important, he met his Indonesian wife Lizza.

“The next year or two we lived together in Sweden where Lizza, took care of my father until he died. His illness hit at the same time as Sweden almost went bankrupt, and they also cancelled subsidies to shipyards. While Sweden follow the rules and lost good business other countries bended the rules and their shipyards survived at least for a while” John Lundin, 40, explains at the backseat of his minivan while we drive from Legian Beach in Bali to Banuywangi at the eastern tip of Java.

“The creditors in Sweden told me at a time that I could keep one of the shipyards, if I just signed their papers. But I would have nothing to do with that. Of course I could se the signs at the walls. My family had build more than 200 patrol boats to Sweden and others Scandinavian countries plus a similar amount of leisure boats” John Lundin says.

It was clear to him that the boat story was a little like the shirts. 80 % of the close he used while fighting for his Swedish family business was produced in Asia. It would be the same with boats. If the Swede could transfer the Swedish quality to production in Indonesia he would be the king.

“Lizza and I left for her country and landed in Jakarta. When I looked around I was surrounded by experts in the issue “Indonesia”. Almost every single westerner knew everything from day one of their arrival to this very beautiful but also very difficult place”.

Pretty quickly John was fed up with all that. He wanted to learn “Indonesia” from scratch.

“I talked with Lizza. What do people make in your village” I asked her. Rice and wood. OK I thought. That could be a perfect place to start”, John Lundin say. We are still in the minibus on our six hours trip to Banuywangi in East Java.

John and Lizza were still in their twenties when they arrived in her village Sukowidi. And Lizza had been right. They produced rice and wood. The latter was doors to peoples own houses and when it went at the best they produced some tables or chairs in “local” quality.

After only half an hour in a restaurant and 7 hours in a minivan it’s clear for me that John has something with people. His huge body, his steady look at you, his a little subdued way to talk to you but still filled with confidence and curiosity he is making wonders just be being together with people.

It was the same at that time. 13 years younger but still equipped with respect, openness, and curiosity and the desire to learn.

And learn he did together with his wife Lizza.

“As a start I only wanted to learn to work in Indonesia. Rice and wood. Clearly I wasn’t a rice farmer so the wood was left for me”, John is smiling.

The Swede who only has a bachelor in economic from Oxford started to become an expert in wooden furniture’s. Soon he was exporting to IKEA and other important buyers in Sweden. Later the Swedish shipyards that was left back home became costumers as well.

In the middle of that business with approximately 200 employed in the village, John Lundin had a problem. His furniture’s were perfect when they left Indonesia but during the travel to Sweden they were damaged by humidity and mould.

“I started to solve my own problem but ended up with a proper business, namely the “Super Dry” own three patents. It worked for me and for other branches and with two other partners I opened a factory in Banuywangi. We had more than 200 people employed but most of the costumers were in China. So we moved the production to where most of our costumers are” explains John Lundin.

IKEA, H&M and hundreds of other companies shipping goods to Europe are among the costumers. Super Dry in runner by a British partner, John has no daily involvement in Super Dry. Right now John and his Super Dry partner are involved in the Thai property business. Together they are renovating four huge townhouses in Jomtien. Later they are going to open a hotel.

The time when John Lundin and his wife Lizza was ready to nurse his dream of building boats in Indonesia got closer and closer.

And in 2003 the couple was ready to register “PT Lundin Industry Invest” with production facilities in Sokuwidi in Banuywangi that was the backbone of North Sea Boats. Professional boat builders were hired to train the workers from John’s furniture production.

“Of course I had patrol boats in my mind but we started with Swedish designed Walk-Around fibreglass sports fishing boats” says John Lundin.

Things have now gone full circle as the model has been exported by North Sea Boats back to Sweden.

“When we talked about selling boats the prizes of transport to the end user is almost as much as the prize of the boat. I was thinking a lot about that problem. The cheapest way to transport what ever is by container. You fill up a container and then the goods arrive to the costumer as cheap as possible. It seems like nobody had combined designing boats to the size of a 40 foot container before I did that”. John Lundin is laughing.

So the Swede made logic to design reality.

The X2K was born.

It’s a seaworthy high- speed suited for pleasure, fishing, diving and not the least to the military. Since then there has been produced more than 30 X2K and also important they have all been delivered in a 40 food container.

But John’s background with his Farther Allan Lundin building patrol boats to police and army in Scandinavia still played with the Swede.

“A coupled of years after we sold the first X2K we painted one grey and launched at a military exhibition in Indonesia”, says John Lundin.

Since then him, his wife Lizza and PT Lundin has gone from strength to strength.

At that time Lizza had sort of backed out of the daily business. The couple never managed to become parents but here with the new contact to the Indonesian Navy you can say that Lizza got her self a different child. Namely the production and sale of patrol boats to the military.

“The entrance to the military was a whole new ballgame. The impertinence of Lizza can never be overvalued. With out her I would never ever have been able to do what we did. Its common stuffs that friendship and business goes together in Asia. But with the military that business culture is much more developed. For us Lizza became friends with the decision makers at the navy. They never talked business, but she made the important socializing with the wife’s of the generals”, says John Lundin.

While Lizza was busy making contacts with the navy John made his design department create an almost seven wonder if we talk about patrol boats. The X2K became first X2K Fast Interceptor and then the addition X2K RIB with the combination of a fibreglass body/ hull and a inflatable part. Plus night vision, special chairs designed in Sweden and so on.

The RIB ship from PT Lundin is qualified as a patrol ship and to ambush pirates.

And the container Principe was still working with these turnkey boats.

“The Indonesia navy was happy with what they got. Since the first delivery we have sold more than thirty boats to different military units or police. Malaysia and Singapore came next.

Together the two neighbouring countries bought more than 40 boats. Then Brunei followed, the same did WWF Indonesia, and we are still developing on the original X2K concept”. John Lundin says.

More than three years ago John had another lunch appointment with the head of the Indonesian Navy.
The latest PT Lundin product at the market is X-38 Patrol and combat Catamaran whose design was commissioned in-part by the Swedish Search and Rescue Service. The boat reaches a speed of 40 knots or approximately 100 kilometres per hour.

“At that meeting I was asked to come up with some very special. Something worthy coming after a proven success as X2K” says John Lundin. He also underlines the difficulties talking about a military project during the creative process.

But John tries to explain as much as he can without breaching any military secrets.

John looked around for a design with lots of speed. It was obvious that it had to be a trimaran. At that time some designers in New Zealand was designing a speed ghost called EarthRace. The boat later won the around the world race. EarthRace is proven the fastets boat ever designed and build.

“Lizza and I plus seven other staff went to New Zealand were we got the attention from day one. I asked them what would happen if we more the less made EartRace three or four times bigger. The answer was that the result would be much much better. The people behind the EarthRace very ready to take part in the development of a super patrol boat witch would almost be a competitor to the much more expensive Swedish patrol boat.

Three years after The Lundins first trip to New Zealand the couple has spend more than 5. mio. US dollars in design and development. Lesser than half of that amount has been sponsored by others.

“We have signed a contract with the Indonesian Navy on delivery of one trimaran patrol boat 60 metres long made in carbon glassfiber and we have the option of three more boats. The Americans have made a trimaran 120 metres long but in aluminium. The only sort of comparable boat at the market is Kockums Visby witch is more advanced but also much much more expensive”, John Lundin insures.

To day the production facilities are ready in Banuywangi. A 63 metres long hall has just enough space to the new project. Workers already prepare wood to make the skeleton to the carbon fibre boat. The carbon fibre witch is also used for production of airplanes and Formula One cars are 20 times stronger than steel.

Upstairs at the offices some of the world’s best on design of speedy boats do the best they can to make a difference.

“WE have done almost whatever to hire the absolute best available designer an engineers at the market. We have designers with experience from The America Cp, Volvo Ocean Race and have also hired experienced designers specialising in Patrol boats from Sweden”, says John Lundin.

While his biggest project is progressing he and his staff also have there creative fingers on some of the smallest boats John has ever had his hands on. Namely a patrol boat designed for rivers.

“The need of patrol boast is huge. The new product is for rivers. You just get it into a container and away you go. When the work is

done, back in the container and off it goes to the next places”, say John Lundin.

Scandasia.com

Popularity: 1% [?]

by Akhyari Hananto

Beberapa waktu lalu saya menulis tentang keengganan RIM berinvestasi di Indonesia, dan menyamakannya dengan kapitalis sempurna. Ternyata banyak yang respon, pro dan kontra. Meskipun 90% pro pada sikap saya terhadap RIM, namun saya perlu merespon teman2 pembaca yang kontra. Pada dasarnya, ada 3 hal besar yang menjadi dasar penolakan mereka terhadap tulisan saya tersebut :

1. Infrastruktur di Indonesia belum siap

Saya mungkin bukan orang yang ahli tentang teknologi, namun saya meyakini bahwa secara kesiapan teknologi, Indonesia sudah siap. Data center, atau apa pun yang diminta RIM agar mereka bisa masuk menanamkan modalnya disini, insyaa Allah sudah siap.  Bukankah Telkomsel yang jumlah pelanggannya ratusan juta (dan merupakan operatol mobile phone terbesar ke-7 di dunia), dan mereka tentu saja mempunyai data center jauh lebih besar dari yang RIM butuhkan, bila mau invest di sini? Sekali lagi, ini keyakinan saya. Bisa jadi kurang benar.

2. SDM di Indonesia belum siap

Inilah alasan yang paling saya tolak. Para pemuda Indonesia sangat siap, bukan hanya dalam kapasitas dan kapabilitas, namun juga jumlahnya berlimpah.

3. Pemerintah kita korup

Mungkin gak berhubungan secara langsung dengan investasi RIM. Bukan pemerintah yang akan merasakan buah manisnya investasi, namun kita semua. Lagian, kalau kita nunggu sampai negeri ini bebas korupsi, mungkin sampai 70 tahun ke depan baru bebas. Itupun kalau para penegak hukum bekerja keras. Apakah kita harus menunggu selama itu?

Yang perlu dilakukan sekarang ini adalah memperkuat rasa percaya diri bangsa ini, bahwa bangsa ini punya banyak potensi, kemampuan, yang seringkali berada di bawah bayang-bayang berita2 negatif yang terus menerus menghantam kita melalui TV-TV di rumah kita.Mari kita gali potensi dan kemampuan bangsa ini..banyak sekali yang bisa dibanggakan.

Dan kalau RIM tetap enggan berinvestasi, biarlah…mereka yang rugi sendiri

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By Akhyari Hananto

Saya adalah seorang penggemar berat dunia penerbangan. Saya paling senang mengamati berbagai hal berbau pesawat komersial, immigration checkpoint, bandara, dan maskapai-maskapai. Meski kita masih sering mendengar insiden-insiden di dunia penerbangan kita, tak pelak harus kita akui, dunia penerbangan Indonesia sedang booming luar biasa.

Setelah melalui masa-masa sulit, maskapai-maskapai Indonesia mulai bergerak dengan cepat menambah pesawat-pesawat terbaru, dan menambah rute. Lion Air yang barusan menandatangani pembelian 230 pesawat baru Boeing 737 Max (dan akan menambang 130 unit lagi), adalah berita besar di Indonesia, bahkan dunia. Berita itu sampai-sampai harus membuat Airbus (pesaing utama Boeing) menuduh bahwa tekanan politik lah yang membuat Lion membeli pesawat Boeing sebegitu banyak.

Selain itu, Lion juga sedang benar-benar bersiap membangun maskapai baru (setelah Lion Air dan Wings), yakni Space Jet, maskapai full service sekelas Garuda Indonesia. Selain Space Jet, ada juga maskapai baru yang akan mulai mengudara pertengahan Januari 2012, yakni Pacific Royale yang juga bermain di kelas premium. Kelas premium nantinya akan bertarung 3 pemain, yang satu adalah Garuda Indonesia, pemain lama, Space Jet, pemain baru tapi lama, dan Pacific Royale, pemain baru. Kita lihat bagaimana mereka membagi kue pasar penumpang di kelas premium.

Bagaimana dengan kelas medium? Rasanya, permainan akan kurang seru. Tercatat hanya Sriwijaya Air yang bermain di kelas ini, tanpa ada lawan. Sriwijaya mulai menambahkan kelas bisnis di pesawat2nya, dan bahkan akan mendatangkan paling tidak 20 Boeing 737-800 NG untuk bermain di kelas premium.

Kelas budget? Lion, tentu masih menjadi raja di kelas ini. Lalu ada Batavia Air, lalu ada Indonesia Air Asia, dan kalau jadi, Mandala Air akan mengudara lagi dengan nafas Tiger Airways, dan Merpati juga masih mempunyai penumpang loyal terutama di Indonesia timur. Jangan lupa, pesawat-pesawat baru Citilink akan mulai berdatangan di langit Indonesia tahun depan. Saya ingin juga memasukkan Sky Aviation dengan pesawat Sukhoi Superjet 100-nya, yang diperkirakan akan mulai berdatangan.

Tentu kita berharap agar semakin banyaknya pemain di dunia penerbangan kita, diiringi dengan perbaikan layanan, dan kualitas keamanan. Jangan salah, kita pun bisa berekspansi ke luar batas-batas negara kita, kalau kita sudah semakin baik. Jetstar dan Air Asia adalah 2 contoh bagaimana layanan dan safety menjadikan mereka raja di Asia Tenggara..hingga saat ini. Dan kue pasar mereka masih begitu besar..

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Indonesia’s domestic air industry is soaring. Nearly 40 million Indonesians now fly, and new airlines seem to be mushrooming. This is a boom for both the industry as well as the economy.

The growing middle class of the country and the lowering of flying costs in the face of tight competition among the many airlines has fueled demand for air travel in Indonesia.

The domestic airline industry is also a perfect example of how liberalization and market forces combined can boost growth and create new jobs. Other industries must follow suit.

There are several new players on the scene. Pacific Royale Airways Indonesia and Lion Air’s Space Jet will soon take to the skies while Sriwijaya Air will be upgraded to semi-full service. This designation refers to services on board the plane, including meal and baggage allowance and in-flight entertainment.

Low-cost carrier Lion Air, which made a record-breaking deal in November for the purchase of 200 Boeings worth a total of $21.7 billion, will set up Space Jet as its full-service airline sometime in 2012 or early 2013, said Edward Sirait, its general director.

It is clear the industry is growing to meet rising demand from a fast-growing middle class. And with an economy expanding at more than 6 percent per year coupled a with poor road transportation system, the airline industry is expected to grow robustly for some years to come.

But while such growth is good for the country, it will also put pressure on facilities that are stretched to a breaking point. The vast majority of airports in the country are already operating over capacity, including Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. The country, therefore, urgently needs to build new airports and expand existing ones.

With so many new airlines, the authorities also must pay greater attention to safety issues. A number of high-profile air accidents in the past few years has highlighted the need to improve safety and maintenance standards. Lives are at stake here.

The airline industry is a barometer of rising economic confidence. It can also open up new domestic tourist destinations, but only if the right infrastructure is in place. That remains the Achilles’ heel of the nation.

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PT Sharp Electronics Indonesia will build a JPY -10 billion- (US$128.156 million) factory in Jakarta next year in anticipation of the rising demand for household appliances from the market.

The new factory, which is scheduled to operate in 2013, is expected to double the production of electronic household appliances, such as refrigerators and washing machines, according to Nikkan Kougyou, as reported by tribunnews.com.

In 2011, Sharp had received a demand of 3 million units of refrigerators and 1.8 million units of washing machines. The demand is expected to keep rising over the next 10 years in accordance with the encouraging economic condition in Indonesia.

Sharp also plans to move the production of LCD televisions from its factory in Pulo Gadung, East Jakarta, to the new factory.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/12/20/sharp-build-new-factory-indonesia.html

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Fitch became the first of the three credit agencies to return Indonesia to investment grade since the country lost the rating 14 years ago. But retail investors looking for a way back to the country have several options to consider.

Fitch noted that the upgrade was a result of the, “the country’s strong and resilient growth, declining public debt ratios, strengthened external liquidity and a prudent overall macro policy framework.”

While the easy money may have been had in the country’s bonds, there is still an opportunity in equities. Lowered yields on the country’s debt could flow down to the corporate market and reduce the cost of capital for issuers. An inflow of foreign direct investment would also push up asset prices and spur lending.

There are two exchange-traded funds that offer exposure to the Indonesian market. The Market Vectors Indonesia ( IDX, quote ) invests in companies domiciled in Indonesia or that accrue at least 50 percent of their revenue from the country. The fund’s two largest sector holdings are in financial services (26.3 percent) and basic materials (22.8 percent).

The MSCI Indonesia Investable Market Index ( EIDO, quote ) is comprised of 74 holdings and made to reflect the performance of the country’s overall market. The top two sectors are also financial services (22.0 percent) and basic materials (16.6 percent) but consumer goods also comprise 25.7 percent of the fund holdings.

Both funds charge an expense ratio of around 0.6 percent.

Indonesian shares traded on the US exchanges are limited to two telecommunications firms, PT Indosat ( IIT, quote ) and PT Telekomunikasi ( TLK, quote ). Both companies provide the array of telecom services with Telekomunikasi by far the larger at a market cap just over $12 billion compared to Indosat’s $3.2 billion in capitalisation.

Notable in Indonesia’s economy is the strength of its domestic consumers, which drive almost two-thirds of GDP. Strength in the domestic market is a rare and welcome find across emerging markets these days as exports to the EU and the United States come under pressure.

Investors should note the trend in foreign direct investment through their investment window. An investment-grade rating will bring an influx of money that must be used constructively.

If funds are not used responsibly, i.e. to develop the country’s infrastructure, an asset bubble could form and could lead to a collapse as seen in the Asian financial crisis.

http://community.nasdaq.com/News/2011-12/indonesia-is-back-in-the-game-with-a-credit-upgrade-eido-idx-iit-tlk.aspx?storyid=109629

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“About $12 billion is for production, while the rest $2 billion for exploration,” BPMigas spokesman Gde Pradyana said without giving details of projects, Reuters reported.

At least 15 oil and gas projects are expected to come onstream in Indonesia in 2012 as southeast Asia’s largest economy tries to boost production to around 930,000 to 950,000 barrel per day.

Indonesia, a former OPEC member, has been struggling with declining oil output from ageing fields and rising domestic demand for gas, which is limiting its gas export potential.

http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article294889.ece

Popularity: 1% [?]

Waktu kecil saya selalu terobsesi dengan Jawa Barat, tanah pasundan yang hijau, bergunung-gunung, banyak kolam ikan, banyak sungai dan para petani yang tersenyum gembira. Gambaran itu semakin mantap ketika alunan seruling Sunda mengiringi imaginasi saya.

Sudah 2 tahun saya bekerja di Jawa Timur, propinsi yang sama sekali tidak masuk dalam imaginasi masa kecil saya. Ketika menyebut Jawa Timur, yang terbayang dulu adalah daerah yang panas, dengan orang-orangnya yang berbahasa Jawa kasar, tidak teratur dan lain-lain. Gambaran yang 100% salah.

Jawa Timur sekarang sedang menikmati masa-masa pertumbuhan ekonomi yang begitu cepat, lebih cepat dari rata-rata nasional. Ada 11 kabupaten/kota di Jatim yang masuk dalam Tata Kelola ekonomi terbaik di Indonesia 2011 versi KPPOD.

Dan besok…saya akan ke Lamongan, salah satu kabupaten paling luar biasa di Jawa Timur. Inilah representasi kegilaan ekonomi Jatim yang sedang menggelora. Tunggu laporan saya dari Lamongan

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