PT Sharp Electronics Indonesia invested IDR582 billion would build a new air conditioning factory at the Karawang International Industrial City (KIIC) in West Java on February 24, 2022.
Sharp was established in 1969 with the name PT Yasonta. The company is famous for producing various electronic equipment in Japan such as TV, air conditioners (AC), washing machines, vacuum cleaners, calculators, refrigerators, smartphones and many more. Until now, the company is present in 55 countries in the world, including Indonesia.
Located on a 3.3-hectare plot of land, the factory construction has reached 43.55% progress by July 2022. The company aimed that the completion of the new factory would help reach a production target of 1.2 million units of AC per year.
“With the effort to decrease the import of electronics, the government is pressuring to add import substitution and to maintain the industrial business climate,” said Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita during the groundbreaking ceremony of the factory. His statement showed the government’s support on domestic electronic industry.
Once completed, the new factory would absord about 1,000 workers.
According to Kartasasmita, Indonesia is a large market for electronic products including AC. The opening of a new factory hopefully could help increase the competitiveness and independence of Indonesia’s electronic sector.
This COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the whole electronic sector nationally. According to Sharp Senior General Manager for National Sales, Andri Adi Utomo, the pandemic had caused the production to decrease by 20%. The government’s policy to limit the number of employees working at the factory to curb the spread of the coronavirus caused the decreasing productivity.
However, even when the economy started to bounce back, post-pandemic electronic business is predicted to not fully recover. The increasing price of electronic products was one of the contributing factors to the stagnant sales.
