Furniture shows wood just gets better with age

Achmad Faisal ,  Contributor ,  Pasuruan   |  Fri, 06/26/2009 1:14 PM  |  Lifestyle

High-quality furniture does not have to mean expensive raw materials. With a little artistry and the right manufacturing process, even recycled timber can be made into valuable quality pieces.

Consider, for example, the gazebos, chairs, tables, photo frames and other wooden items produced by Roni Dwi Hartoyo of the Sono Indah Perkasa company in Pasuruan city.

The company uses 100 percent old timber as its raw material, which it sources from railway sleepers, old boats and demolished houses, among others.

Roni believes that furniture and homewares made from recycled timber are more affordable, while still having quality and strength comparable to furniture made with new timber.

Recycled timber, which can be dozens or even hundreds of years old, has its advantages.

"In the past, people who made goods from timber did so when the wood was already strong and old," he said. "That's different from now where the supply of timber is limited and the high market demand means that industries are forced to use green timber, which hasn't seasoned long enough to be the raw material for furniture."

Used timber, which he usually buys by the piece, tends to be cheaper - almost 50 percent the price of new timber. One cubic meter of recycled timber costs between Rp 2.5 million and 3 million, but the same amount of new timber can cost Rp 5-6 million, with the higher price due to factors such as the cost of logging permits.

It's not only the price that makes recycled timber more accessible. Government regulations controlling logging, compounded by complex bureaucratic processes, make it difficult to get new timber. The regulations controlling the timber business and the trading of forest products in Pasuruan are contained in the Pasuruan Regency Decree 22/2003 as part of the Competitiveness Consortium Program (Senada), which is funded by USAID. This has led to 17 regional government regulations that some claim are hampering business in East Java.

Of Sono Indah Perkasa's many products, gazebos are the mainstay. Recycled timber is used for the gazebos' supporting beams and rafters.

But since a gazebo isn't complete until it's been decorated with plants such as bonsai, Roni has also developed his skills and business as a collector and seller of plants. He sets out his bonsai in the laneway outside his housing complex in Pasuruan city.

This arrangement has flow-on effects for the entire neighborhood, with other residents enjoying the plants, and the overall effect making the area appear more attractive and thus driving up real estate prices.

Roni has almost a hundred varieties of bonsai of various sizes, including those known as Dollar, Cemara Udang, Kulmus and Stigi, which sell for prices ranging from Rp 500,000 to Rp 75 million per plant depending on the variety and the shape. Although a plant may be small, if its shape is unique, it can fetch a higher price.

One of Roni's most valuable products was a replica of an antique bed made in 1816. The bed, measuring 2 meters along each side and built from teak 30 to 40 centimeters thick, weighs almost one tonne. It is predicted that it will be last for at least three generations.

That replica bed is now for sale - its price tag around Rp 75 million to Rp 80 million.

"I'm brave enough to guarantee that this piece of furniture is the heaviest in Indonesia," Roni said.

Even though Pasuruan is a major center for furniture and handicrafts in East Java, Roni's furniture stands out as different. Roni and his 20 permanent staff members concentrate on creating prominent artistic works, thus adopting different models.

This difference means his products sit in a higher price range, with prices going up to Rp 100 million per item.

These prices put the products out of range for many local buyers, meaning the products of Sono Indah Perkasa CV tend to find buyers in the overseas market. The company has built a network of markets overseas by participating in exhibitions organized by the East Java government. These six-monthly exhibitions are held in countries such as Dubai, Germany and France.

In marketing his products to overseas customers, especially those in Europe, Roni uses an agent from Belgium. To supply the markets in Asian countries such as Thailand, China and Malaysia, Roni uses the business networks that he's built up through the exhibitions. For the Indonesian market, his main outlets are in Makassar, Balikpapan, and Jakarta.

The market with the greatest potential of all is, naturally, Europe, to where he ships a container of products at least once every six weeks at an average value of around Rp 250 million.

Jember-born Roni, now 49 years old and head of the Pasuruan Timber Business People's Association, opened his business in 1990. The former manager of a construction company quit his job to set up the business, with the help of five of his siblings.

Products built by Roni's company have developed a good reputation, enhanced by a number of awards both nationally and regionally.

These include an Upakarti award from former president Soeharto and the Best Executive ASEAN Award - yet Roni turned this one down.

"For me, the satisfaction comes through the work and the customer's satisfaction is everything," he said. "It's much more important that others get that award."

- Photos by Achmad Faisa

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