Yudi P. Pratomo

EPC contractor company PT Asindo Tech CEO Fidrianto believes in the power of strong teamwork and constant innovation to grow a business.

The young business executive of an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor focusing on agro-industry says that building strong teamwork is pivotal to grow a business but that this should be followed up by constant innovation.

 Building strong teamwork involves tangible actions to empower people and '€œhumanize humankind,'€ says Fidrianto, CEO of PT Asindo Tech.

 '€œI treat all of my employees like a '€˜big family'€™ in which formal relations between superiors and subordinates are unnecessary,'€ says the 42-year old, who prefers to wear blue jeans and a black jacket rather than a suit, explaining his leadership philosophy.

 '€œWhy? Because we are aware that employees work not only because they want to meet their basic need for survival but also because they possess an interest in developing,'€ he notes.

 They want respect for '€œwhat they have done and the ideas that they put forth. So, apart from having clear regulations we also work around the value in which we feel employees should be humanized, not a machine that we can exploit at our own will,'€ he says.

 How do you create an employee-development-friendly working environment?

 '€œCommunication,'€ says the CEO and owner of the company, who often emerges from the office to personally check in on company projects.

Whilst remaining occupied with their job, workers (employees) and staff should also have time to get together once in a while, in a small gathering, for example, to '€œbreak the ice; make communication easier or make the inter-personal work situation liquid and warm, not formal and rigid.'€

Developing a tradition of informal gatherings is expected to allow employees to have the courage to voice their views and, on the other hand, as superiors, to accept input and encourage discussion. In this way, as a team, among other things, we learn not to blame or to be blamed when making a mistake,'€ he says.

'€œWe keep our mind open. We often hold an open discussion because at the end of the day, many small things may arise from the employees themselves,'€ he says.

 Most of the employees at the company are young people with mechanical and electrical skill, who the company recruits in collaboration with Lampung'€™s vocational training center (BLK). Even though they have completed the required on-the-job training under the company'€™s internship initiative, they continue to receive other ongoing training to enhance their skills, according to Fidri.

 The graduate from Sriwijaya University, majoring in mechanical engineering, has more than 15 years of working experience, most predominantly holding managerial positions in tapioca-related companies. Most recently, he was the general manager for CV Lambang Jaya from 2008 until 2010 before making the decision to establish his own companies, PT Asindo Tech and PT Auto Multi Teknik.

  Based on those years of experience working for tapioca companies, implementing projects in remote areas, he learned that a human approach is crucial to achieving success; adopting this approach not only in relation to his employees, internally in day-to-day operations, but also externally, with those communities in the close vicinity of projects that the company implements.

 Despite the company'€™s projects in remote or hinterland areas, such as those in Sorong, Papua, '€œour projects run well because we care for the surrounding communities, not by distributing money but by working with our heart,'€ he explains.

 '€œIn each of the places where we work, we highly respect local wisdom. We know when we have to respect local wisdom and when we have to enforce a working discipline, part of our working principles that local people also have to obey,'€ he says.

 Empowering local communities is also an effective tool that the company utilizes in order to keep the agro '€“industry projects that also benefit local people in terms of job opportunity and empowerment, running uninterrupted by the crossbar that is commonly used by local people to express their rejection to a project or a company.

 A case in point is the hinterland people in Sungai Kais District, South Sorong, Papua, where the company is engaged in developing sago-starch processing plants as an EPC contractor.

 Shrimp are highly abundant in the district and so '€œwe train local mothers how to make dried shrimp and we buy the products. They are very happy to do that and so our assistance is given in the form of providing them with knowledge and skill instead of money,'€ he says.

 '€œSo we establish a win-win principle-based relationship with local communities. We carry out our project but at the same time we care for local people and the environment,'€ he says.

Innovation team

Apart from building a strong team, which is important in the context of employee management and subsequently boosting working enthusiasm and passion, the business executive and owner has also set up what he calls an innovation team when it comes to business strategy for growth. This is another best practice in regard to business success.

 The primary tasks are among other things to constantly identify new products, applications and to define what the market needs in order to develop cutting-edge technologies, according to Fidri.

For Fidri, innovation in a team does not mean confining itself when it comes to the process. That'€™s why his innovation team also collaborates with several universities and research institutions under the framework of enhancing scientific basis and '€œprovide an opportunity for the possible application of many ideas and research results in accordance with an applied engineering,'€ he says.

'€œOn top of that, the collaboration will allow our innovation team to continually get new ideas from academician and researcher cycle,'€ he explains.

 He further explained that establishing strategic partnerships with several key principal technology manufacturers from European countries was also part his business strategy to growth.

 The company, which initially focused on EPC contractor service for tapioca starch-processing industry has expanded to sago, palm oil and other agro-industrial areas and renewable energy. It also boasts having an enhanced expertise and execution capability in converting water waste coming from agro industry plants into energy that can be used as electricity and boiler.

 Touching upon the Asean Economic Community (AEC) to be enforced by end of 2015, he says that he has built a strong base on human capital and has established collaborations with European partners who welcome the technology transfer and therefore feels confident in competing with other Asean countries when the AEC is enforced.

 '€œA leader should think forward and realize that there is nothing that can last for a long time; everything will change,'€ he says, when asked about the qualifications of a leader.

 '€œIn the context of business, a leader should be able to make new innovations and find breakthroughs, which not only allow for growth and expansion, but also fulfill peoples need for development.'€
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Birth

Sungailiat, Bangka, Jan. 14, 1973.

Career Highlights

From 2010 to present: CEO and owner of PT Asindo Tech. Prior to this Fidriano held the position of general manager for CV Lambang Jaya, operational manager at PT Sinar Pematang Mulia and Steel Fabrication/Construction Workshop, plant operational manager at Tapioca Factory in Lampung and technical manager at PT Ultra Prima Abadi.

Education

Mechanical engineering at Sriwijaya University

At Ease

Love nature

In my personal time, as a favorite activity with my family, we often visit places close to nature. I love to bring my children to villages, including the one where my house maid lives. We visit a rice field or a small forest. This is, perhaps, because I was born in a village and come from a farmer family and thus a visit to a rice field reminds me of my childhood days.

Maintaining healthy eating patterns

To keep my body in shape, I try to maintain good eating patterns by eating in moderation.

Little workouts

I acknowledge that my occupation causes me to lack time for exercise. I realize that moving my body is very important for the sake of my health and that'€™s why, when I am at an airport, I take the opportunity to walk from one end of the waiting room to the other, instead of just sitting around while waiting for the plane to take off. I always take the opportunity to walk when I am on the site a project being implemented.

Inspiring books

Rhenald Kasali'€™s book titled Change and Robert T. Kiyosaki'€™s Rich Dad, Poor Dad are among the books that I find inspiring. Change has really inspired me to innovate and aim to make new breakthroughs for company growth

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