Strategic milestone: Stadler enters the Asian market

Stadler and the Indonesian rail vehicle manufacturer PT INKA today signed a joint venture contract. The joint venture will develop and manufacture rail vehicles using modern aluminium technology at the production site in Banyuwangi. Stadler has thereby succeeded in completing the strategically important leap to the South East Asian region. One of the contractual conditions to be met before being able to implement the technology transfer and start training the Indonesian employees is that an order has to be received for 500 suburban rail carriages with an option for a further 500 carriages.

Back in the spring, Stadler and PT INKA had already signed a declaration of intent in Banyuwangi to establish a joint plant in Indonesia. After intensive negotiations this week, Peter Spuhler, Chairman of the Stadler's Board of Directors, Ansgar Brockmeyer, Sales Director at Stadler, and Budi Noviantoro, President Director of PT INKA, signed the joint venture contract today. The contract was signed in Bussnang in the presence of the Indonesian Minister of State Owned Enterprises, Ms. Rini M. Soemarno, who had travelled from Indonesia especially for the event. This marks a historic milestone for Stadler: The train manufacturer from Eastern Switzerland has now arrived on the Asian continent. 

The signature of the contract sets up the joint venture between Stadler and PT INKA that intends to develop and produce modern rail vehicles in Indonesia. One of the conditions for the implementation of the joint venture is that an order has to be received for 500 suburban rail carriages with an option for a further 500 carriages. PT INKA started building the necessary production facility in Banyuwangi, Indonesia, in January 2019. According to the contract, production is scheduled to start in 2021. As well as manufacturing car bodies, the new plant will also carry out pre-assembly, final assembly and commissioning of rail vehicles. The new location should also represent the long-sought-after base from which to gain access to South East Asian countries. For Stadler, the establishment of a production site is therefore a strategically important step which will contribute to the success of the entire group.

«Stadler is proud to have signed the joint venture contract with PT INKA today. Following several failed attempts to successfully enter the Asian market from Europe, we realized that this was not possible without a production site on the spot. We therefore decided to look for a suitable local partner, and have finally managed to find one after more than ten years of searching. This has enabled us to make the leap to Asia,» says Peter Spuhler, Chairman of Stadler’s Board of Directors. «We are convinced that in PT INKA, we have found a professional partner for this joint venture. The new production site in Indonesia consolidates Stadler’s market entry in Asia and creates the best possible conditions for achieving growth in the region.»