Welcoming Half a Century of Age, the story of Semen Baturaja’s journey is packaged in the book “The Three Elephants”

JAKARTA – Almost entering its golden age, PT Semen Baturaja Tbk (SMBR) as a subsidiary of PT Semen Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (SIG) has just held a Soft Launching of the SMBR History Book on Tuesday (24/10) at the Bidakara Hotel, Jakarta. This book launch event also coincided with the 2023 SMBR Public Expose in the same series of events.

The launch of this book was attended by the Commissioners and Directors of SMBR including Independent Commissioner Chowadja Sanova, Commissioner Hadi Daryanto who attended online, then President Director Daconi Khotob, Director of Finance & HR Functions Rahmat Hidayat, Director of Operations Functions Suherman Yahya and accompanied by Vice President of Corporate Secretary Bashtony Santri and the SMBR History Book Compilation Team.

Long story short, the book entitled “The Three Elephants: Celebrating History, Continuing the Story” tells the story of the colossal history of a cement factory that was founded in Baturaja City, Ogan Komering Ulu Regency. How a factory whose raw materials and processing to become clinker came to be in Baturaja, but also has a grinding plant and packaging plant in Palembang City and Bandar Lampung.

The initial idea for building factories in three locations was unique. The construction of the cement factory in Baturaja is intended to utilize the railway line for distribution. By the government, SMBR was built to meet cement needs in the Southern Sumatra region (Sumbagsel).

Throughout its journey, SMBR has experienced a difficult phase. The construction of the factory was delayed due to the uncertain economic situation in the country. Factory construction was hampered due to the crisis and global situation in the late 1970s. In 1998, SMBR was about to be sold to a foreign party. This book explains in detail how the management at that time succeeded in saving the company’s assets from a ‘hospital’ called BPPN and the grip of foreign parties.

On June 28 2013, SMBR also succeeded in listing its initial shares on the Stock Exchange so that it had the status of a public company. Until finally, in 2022, SMBR as a state-owned company will be integrated into the large ecosystem of the Cement Industry and joined in SIG. The journey of almost half a century of SMBR is summarized in this book.

To summarize half a century of history in one book containing 364 pages, the author and the drafting team have interviewed more than 30 sources, from across generations of directors, former employees, commissioners, stakeholders and levels of society.

Famous figures interviewed included National Figure Azwar Anas, former Director and founder of SMBR. Former Member of the DPR/RI Marzuki Alie, Pamudji Rahardjo, Main Director who succeeded in bringing SMBR to the floor on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI). Until Daconi Khotob brought the company in the transition period to SIG.

“The Three Elephants is a nickname that refers to the three SMBR operational locations that stand tall like elephants – sturdy and durable elephants according to SMBR’s tagline. “This book is a witness to the history, achievements and strategic role and contribution of SMBR in infrastructure development and the national economy, especially in the Southern Sumatra region,” said Daconi in his speech.

He said that the launch of this history book indicated that SMBR was half a century old. This story is not just documentation but a form of appreciation and respect for the pioneers of the founding of SMBR.

“Thank you and the highest appreciation to all parties who have supported and been involved in making this history book. “We hope that the wider community will be able to explore the contents of this history book, which contains insights, information and the history of the founding of SMBR as a source of motivation and innovative ideas to achieve common goals,” he concluded. (*)