SIG Geared Up to Dominate Cement-Derivatives Market with New Mortar Innovation

JAKARTA, Indonesia, June 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — PT Semen Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (SIG) through its subsidiary, PT Mitra Kiara Indonesia (MKI), has progressively created another milestone to become the largest building material solution provider in the region. The company has launched “Mortar Indonesia”, an innovation of mortar product dubbed to be the best-ever invention in the industry, to answer challenges in the building material sector as well as to provide the optimum solution to the stakeholders.

Supported by the large network of SIG distributors, Mortar Indonesia is currently available in several areas such as DKI Jakarta, Banten, West Java, Central Java, East Java and the Special Region of Yogyakarta and will soon be available in Medan, Lampung and Makassar.

PT Mitra Kiara Indonesia’s President Director, Mirza Whibowo Soenarto, said that mortar was a product of the future that demanded continuous development as both the technology and its needs were still evolving. This was reflected in the development of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) or products that continued to appear in the market.

“Mortar Indonesia provides great added values and places SIG in a strong position in the mortar business in Indonesia. It will increase [SIG’s] brand diversification, strategy, innovation and support SIG’s grand vision to become the largest building material solutions provider in the region that constantly offers unique and different actions, with the courage to go beyond (Go Beyond Next),” Mirza said in a virtual press conference on Monday, June 7, 2021.

During the press conference, SIG’s Marketing & Supply Chain Director, Adi Munandir, said that the launch of Mortar Indonesia was a strategic development of SIG Transformation that prioritized innovation in production processes, product portfolios and business processes. One of the main objectives was the transformation of construction technology where conventional construction methods would be replaced with modern construction methods, one of which was Mortar Indonesia as a product that answered these challenges to meet the need for faster, lighter and more efficient construction.

“In Indonesia, 5% of conventional on-site mix mortar methods have been replaced with modern pre-mix mortar methods, 73% of which are concentrated in Java. This opens up a great opportunity to transform national construction as a form of commitment of SIG through its innovation,” Adi added.

The launch of Mortar Indonesia also received appreciation from State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Erick Tohir. In his remarks, Erick believed that mortar products from SIG would become the pride of Indonesia. “This is not just a product launch, but is also a manifesto of SIG’s continuous innovation and transformation to become a world-class and future-minded SOE,” he said.

“I appreciate the step taken by SIG in transforming itself as an enterprise, which is now more than just a cement producer. The existence of Sobat Bangun and AccessToko is a good example of digital transformation, not only to capture opportunities, during and after the pandemic, but also to transform [business] in the era of technology. ‘Go Beyond Next‘, a spirit that is in line with the SOE transformation program. Congratulations on this achievement to become the largest building material provider solution in the region,” Erick said.

Mortar Indonesia comprises 5 product variants, namely Mortar Indonesia Thin Bed Adhesive (D-1) as an adhesive for lightweight brick applications, Mortar Indonesia Plaster & Brick Adhesive (D-2) as brick and wall plaster adhesive, Mortar Indonesia Concrete Skim Coat (D-3) as a coating on plaster and concrete surfaces both interior and exterior, Mortar Indonesia Ceramic Tile Adhesive (K-1) as ceramic adhesive on walls and floors and Mortar Indonesia Granite Tile Adhesive (K-2) as adhesive for granite (homogenous tile), ceramics and natural stone on walls and floors. The five products are formulated with a mixture of cement, sand and selected materials that are homogeneously mixed so that they can produce maximum applications with the best quality.

To ensure product availability, quality and quality assurance, PT Mitra Kiara Indonesia has the third largest factory in Indonesia with a production capacity of 375,000 tons of mortar per year. The factory, which was built on an area of two hectares, is the first factory in Indonesia with an integrated business concept between mortar raw materials. The MKI factory is located in the same area as the SIG factory.

Mortar Indonesia is also developed with the latest technology to produce high quality products. Unlike other mortar products, Mortar Indonesia applies an Integrated Comprehensive Process system from upstream to downstream, where the entire production process, from material selection to mortar packaging will go through a series of comprehensive quality controls.

The utilization of the latest technology differentiates the quality of Mortar Indonesia with other mortar products. Especially with lime sand processing technology supported by the selection of reliable raw materials from other SIG units, enabling the factory to produce products with more guaranteed quality. In addition, the guaranteed supply of raw materials to meet market needs in terms of quantity and quality supported by the well-established SIG supply chain management network is also an added value.

PT Mitra Kiara Indonesia’s factory is also equipped with a Research & Development Center (R&D) facility covering an area of 400 square meters. It is equipped with the latest facilities and infrastructure to realize the achievement of future growth in the cement-derived building materials industry.