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PT Bayer Indonesia, a manufacturer of pharmaceuticals and
over-the-counter (OTC) products, will make Indonesia its production
base for consumer-care products in Asia-Pacific following the expansion
of the company's recently acquired plant.
Bayer Indonesia president director Hans-Josef Schill said Thursday that
the expansion of the plant would allow the company to raise its
production capacity to 2,000 tons of over-the-counter drugs per year
from 700 tons previously.
With the expansion of its plant in Cimanggis, West Java, which the
company acquired from the Indonesian unit of Swiss major pharmaceutical
company Roche, Bayer will be able to meet the demand not only from the
domestic market, but also from the Asia and Pacific region.
"The expansion will allow the company to gradually increase its
production capacity to up to 2,000 tons by 2012 for the domestic and
regional markets," Schill told reporters following the inauguration of
the expanded plant.
He said that the expansion, which took about 17 months to complete, had
cost the company about 18 million euros (US$24.58 million), of which
about 8 million euros were spent on high-technology facilities and
state-of-the-art machinery.
"The Cimanggis plant produces leading consumer brands, including
Redoxon and Berocca, for the local market and some countries in the
region, including Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and
Australia. Part of the production will also exported to France," Schill
said.
Head of Consumer Care David Marwoto Budi said that the company was
confident the expansion would allow Bayer Indonesia to raise exports
7.5-fold in 2010, from between Rp 20 billion and Rp 25 billion recorded
in 2005.
"Local demand for Bayer's OTC products is good. We sell 90 percent of
production domestically. This makes Indonesia the third largest market
for Bayer's OTC products in Asia Pacific, after Australia and China,"
David said.
Schill said that Indonesia was the 15th largest OTC market worldwide,
notching up double-digit growth rates every year.
David predicted that the OTC market would grow by nine percent this
year, with Bayer's total sales of OTC products expected to grow by
between 12 and 15 percent.
Bayer Indonesia operates five factories (including the Cimanggis
plant), producing both pharmaceutical and chemical products, and
employs about 1,200 workers.
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