Bayer makes RI Asia-Pacific production base

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

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.