Sumitomo to increase capacity in Indonesia

Sumitomo (SHI) Construction Machinery Co. has doubled its initial production target at a planned Indonesian plant to 2,000 hydraulic excavators a year. Under a plan announced in May, the firm said it would invest about ¥3 billion (US$37 million) to build the facility, which is slated to come on stream next September. But it has decided to invest an additional ¥500 million to ¥1 billion (US$6.17 million-US$12.33 million) to upgrade the plant’s output capacity. Demand for excavators in Indonesia has been robust. The firm has already established an 85%-owned Indonesian subsidiary, with the other 15% held by parent Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. The new plant will produce four 12- to 35-ton excavator models that until now have been shipped from Japan. Sumitomo also produces excavators in China. (November 5, 2010)