In late February 2020, President Joko Widodo inaugurated Indonesia’s largest integrated viscose rayon production facility for Asia Pacific Rayon (APR), which is part of Royal Golden Eagle (RGE), a leading integrated, resource-based Indonesian industrial group. The facility requires a total investment of approximately USD 1.1 billion. The plant will provide a boost for the country’s textile sector in line with the Indonesian government’s strategy to encourage more value-added investment in the nation and the strengthening of the national textile and textile product industry. In addition, the production of viscose rayon will reduce dependence on the import of textile raw materials, particularly cotton, to meet domestic demand.
Also part of the RGE is the Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) Group, a developer of fiber plantations and the owner of one of the world’s largest pulp and paper mills with operations mainly in Indonesia and China. The new APR plant with an annual production capacity of 240,000 tons, is located in the APRIL Group’s production complex in Pangkalan Kerinci, Riau province, Sumatra. This co-location will enable integrated operations where renewable plantation pulp supply from APRIL will directly feed APR’s viscose rayon production.
APR will create around 1,200 job opportunities and is expected to generate an annual USD 130 million in export revenue, reducing Indonesia’s reliance on imported textile raw materials. Its yearly capacity will also expand to 600,000 tons.
During the inauguration ceremony, the plant received a signed plaque and the symbolic sealing of an export container with 10,190 tons of viscose rayon fiber for shipment to Turkey, one of APR’s key export markets, and another 12,000 tons to Central Java. APR’s products are also exported to 14 other markets including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Brazil, and European countries.
Asia Pacific Rayon is the first fully integrated viscose rayon producer in Asia, using the latest production technology to produce high-quality rayon to meet textile needs and to provide sustainable and value-added alternatives to the textile industry.
(Sources: Fibre2Fashion; The Jakarta Post; Asia Pacific Rayon)
