Djarum
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Tobacco industry |
| Founded | April 21, 1951 |
| Headquarters |
Kudus, Indonesia Jakarta, Indonesia |
|
Key people
|
Robert Budi Hartono, Michael Bambang Hartono |
| Owner | Djarum Group |
|
Number of employees
|
75,000 |
| Website | www.djarum.com |
Djarum is an Indonesian kretek (clove cigarette) brand/manufacturer founded in April 21, 1951 by Oei Wie Gwan in Kudus, Central Java.
In 1951, Oei Wie Gwan, an ethnic Chinese businessman, bought a nearly defunct cigarette company in Kudus, Central Java known as NV Murup. The brand was called Djarum Gramofon which means 'gramophone needle' he shortened it into Djarum which only means needle. The company's first brand was 'Djarum'. The company was nearly extinct when in 1963 a huge fire destroyed the company's factory which was followed by the death of Oei Wie Gwan. Nevertheless, the new owners, Oei Wie Gwan's children Budi and Bambang Hartono, took the opportunity to rebuild the company.
The products are hand-rolled or machine-rolled kretek, both of which are popular and produced in large quantities. The classic hand-rolled kretek continues to be made by Djarum using older methods of manual rolling by laborers. Machine-rolled kretek, introduced in early 1970, are manufactured in a fully automated process.
Djarum Super was launched in 1981, followed by introduction of Djarum Special in 1983.
While the domestic market for kretek was large, in 1972 the company began exporting hand-rolled kretek to tobacco retailers around the world. Budi and Bambang Hartono diversified the company's activities outside of cigarette manufacturing.
After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the company became a part of a consortium which bought Bank Central Asia (BCA) from BPPN. BCA is the largest private bank in Indonesia and was formerly a part of the Salim Group. Presently the majority stake of the bank (51%) is controlled by Djarum. In 2004 the Djarum Group acquired a 30-year BOT contract from the government to develop and renovate Hotel Indonesia in Jakarta under the Grand Indonesia superblock project.
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Wikipedia