Singamas shuts down container production at plant

THE world's second biggest box manufacturer, Indonesia's Singamas Container Holdings, will stop production at least until March following the global downturn and decide when to resume operations.

Singamas CFO Sylvia Tam told Lloyd's List that it had ended production at its Surabaya factory, owned by PT Java Pacific, in the third quarter. It is our intention to study the Indonesian market in June and decide whether this factory would resume production then, she said.

Java Pacific started operations in 1995 and had an annual capacity of 30,000 TEU in dry freight and specialised containers. It has factories in Guangdong, Huizhou, Ningbo, Qingdao, Shanghai, Tianjin and Xiamen. The company hopes to restructure and maintain production at 30,000 TEU, but with 20 per cent fewer workers, a move that will affect 10,000 workers.

During this period, these workers will get the minimum wages of US$88 to $118 a month, depending on the location, Ms Tam said.

Source: Schednet