Conglomerate Hermanto Tanoko's Success Story Bringing Avian IPO To Rp5.7 Trillion Can't Be Separated From His Father, Soetikno Tanoko

JAKARTA - Anyone must be familiar with the name Avian branded paint. Products from PT Avia Avian have been 43 years old, aka since 1978 attached to the walls of buildings in the country.

Avian's success cannot be separated from the name Soetikno Tanoko or Tan Tek Swie. Soetikno was the founder of PT Avia Avian, before he finally passed away at the age of 95 on Sunday 1 November 2020.

Even though he is gone, Soetikno is still a big figure in the building materials industry. His track record of starting from the bottom is truly an inspiration for industry players.

After his death, Soetikno handed over his throne to the youngest, Hermanto Tanoko. For Hermanto himself, his father is a hard-working figure who always teaches his children to be totality in entrepreneurship.

"My father to his children and grandchildren always teaches reputation and honesty, because this is the main capital to be an entrepreneur," said Hermanto Tanoko in an interview with Merry Riyana on his YouTube account.

The father, said Hermanto, also taught that in business there should be no such thing as aji while.

"So if there are family problems, for example, finances, we must not delay our debt repayment commitments, so we in all families (10 companies) under any crisis conditions are paid," said the 59-year-old man.

Hermanto told about how PT Avia Avian was founded. Initially, Soetikno ran a paint shop in Malang with his brother in the 1970s.

Avian started to set up a small paint factory or home industry with 18 employees in 1978. Soetikno then succeeded in bringing the shop into the number one paint shop in Malang.

Hermanto himself, when he was 7 years old, had started to join his father's paint shop. Hermanto was trained on how to do a painting business that would earn a big margin.

On the teachings of his father, Hermanto finally dared to manage a pharmacy which later became Airlangga pharmacy, one of the largest in Malang. It was only later in the 1980s that Hermanto was asked to join Avian.

The wealth of the Tanoko brothers

Thanks to their father's hard work and encouragement, brothers Hermanto and Wijono Tanoko have a net worth of around US$700 million, according to Forbes. They are also included in the list of the 50 richest people in Indonesia.

Hermanto has been very successful since joining Avian. He began to make some changes by forming a research and development team and building a laboratory.

The paint business initiated by Soetikno is growing rapidly. In 2018, the growth of PT Avia Avian even reached 20 percent.

Hermanto also founded a holding company, Tancorp, in 2015 which oversees eight core business fields such as Tanbiz (manufacturing), Tanobel (food and beverage), Tanrise (property), Tanly (hotel & hospitality), Tanworld (network & retail), Tanlife ( beauty & health), Tanlink (distribution), and Trancreation (restaurant & cafe).

If traced, Hermanto's company ownership does not stop at Avian and Tancorp. He is known to have a total of 77 companies with more than 300 brands and 15,000 employees.

Its business expansion continues to grow, one of which is by building a 5-star hotel, Vasa Hotel Surabaya, in mid-2018 with an investment value of Rp1.8 trillion, which is a partnership project with Tung Desem Waringin.

Listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange

Hermanto Tanoko is now ready to bring PT Avia Avian to the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX). The company conducted an initial public offering of up to 6.2 billion shares.

This amount represents 10.0075 percent of the issued and paid-up capital after the IPO. The offering price ranges from Rp780 to Rp930. "The total value of Avian's initial public offering is Rp5.76 trillion," wrote Avian's management.

Avian also allocates a maximum of 2 percent of the shares offered in the IPO as shares to employees or Employee Stock Allocation (ESA). In Avia Avian's IPO, the underwriters were PT Mandiri Sekuritas, and the underwriters were PT UBS Sekuritas Indonesia and PT Credit Suisse Sekuritas Indonesia.

"The underwriters guarantee with full commitment the remaining shares offered that are not subscribed in the IPO," explained management.