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T Siemens Industrial Power (PSIP), a joint venture between Siemens AG of Germany and domestic turbine-maintenance company PT Nusantara Turbin and Propulsi (NTP), is ready to meet the surge in demand for industrial turbines with the opening of its steam-turbine factory in Bandung, West Java, on Wednesday.

PSIP president director Dierk Unterspann said the steam turbine factory would be able to produce different types of steam turbines for small- and large-scale power plants, textile factories and sugar mills.

“This new facility is another major step toward becoming the leading developer of industrial steam turbines in Indonesia to support not only the energy market but also various industries,” Unterspann said during the official launch.

Budi Darmadi, the Industry Ministry’s director general for high technology priority industries, said that operations at the PSIP’s factory were expected to help revive the country’s ailing and aging sugar and textile industries.

“This establishment comes at the peak of Indonesia’s sugar mills’ and textile industry revitalization. There are 3,000 textile factories in the country, most of which need to be equipped with turbines,” he said.

Starting from June, the PSIP will commence production of the Siemens Turbine SST-140; a single-casing geared steam turbine with a capacity up to 20 megawatts (MW).

The factory, which has an initial investment of about 12 million euros (US$15.21 million), is set to produce 60 custom turbines per year. So far, the PSIP has signed agreements with several companies to build six turbines.

Siemens AG has a 60-percent stake in PSIP, while NTP, a subsidiary of state aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia, holds the remaining 40 percent.

The plant mainly oversees final turbine assembly, while spare parts are made by local partners in Bandung, Jakarta and Surabaya. One of them is Bakrie Tosanjaya. The production design is in compliance with Industry Ministry regulations, which require a minimum 40 percent of local content.

Looking at the company’s contribution in supporting local talent, NTP’s president director, Supra Dekanto, hopes the government will allow them to supply turbines for some government energy-plant projects.

“Our products are aimed at supporting the government in the energy sector, such as its steam turbine geothermal project, which is currently being planned by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology [BPPT],” Supra said.

Siemens sees the plant as strengthening their presence in the domestic market, amid the domination of imported steam-turbine products. The Bandung plant will allow the company to reduce its costs, conduct technology transfers to local engineers and create closer relationships with their customers. Moreover, the PSIP is expected to strengthen its financial performance.

“The energy sector contributes 37 percent of our global business revenue. Hopefully, the plant will be a successful contributor for Siemens in the regional,” said Siemens’s energy sector head for ASEAN-Pacific, Markus Lorenzini, adding that the firm was the world’s market leader in industrial stream turbines.

Prior to its collaboration with local companies, Siemens operated a power generation plant in Cilegon, Banten, which produces large-scale turbines and condensers for power plants. (yps)