Surviving In The Midst Of The COVID-19 Pandemic, Stephanus Koeswandi Reveals The Strategy Of Sustainable Metals

JAKARTA – All parties hope that the COVID-19 pandemic will end soon. But no one knows for sure when the pandemic will end. Facing this reality, the company's production, said Stephanus Koeswandi, President, Vice President, Tatalogam Lestari, must continue. Because of that they made various breakthroughs and innovations in order to survive. What are you doing?

During a pandemic, there are opportunities to be found. For marketing, it is not only targeting the Indonesian market, but also America and mega-countries in Africa. “We don't just stop at the Indonesian market, but also the American and African markets. We introduced our products and they were very welcoming. That's where the market for our products is,” he told VOI when he visited his office in the Kenon Jeruk area, West Jakarta, for a special interview not long ago.

He called what was done during this pandemic as the fruit of The Power of Kepepet. "We started exporting (from Tata Metal Lestari) during this pandemic. Maybe this is called the power of pettiness. At the end of 2019 we invested in production equipment. Meanwhile, in March 2020 the pandemic began to hit Indonesia. In the end, we thought about how to keep production running because it couldn't be stopped. The market it was trying to break into was America, although many of the requirements were eventually passed. Furthermore, it can also penetrate countries in Africa," he said.

Initial exports to America were only 40 tons per month at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. Until September 2021, the number of exports to America had reached 7,000 tons. This amount is 10 to 20 percent of the company's production. The problem is that they still have to prioritize requests from within the country first.

Because production continues and the products produced are absorbed by the market. Tatametal is still able to survive and run its business in these difficult times. "As much as possible there are no layoffs. And Praise God until now after the pandemic has lasted for almost two years, there have been no layoffs, no employee housing and no salary cuts. We can still pay THR and other allowances. All of this is due to the hard work of all lines in our company,” he said.

Stephanus admitted, they also experienced difficult times when exports had not been dealt with. “Early March 2020 was a difficult time for us because at that time the pandemic was just starting, and the rules from the government were also not clear. Meanwhile in our company, there are a lot of employees who depend on it for their lives. So we have to be an agile company in order to survive this COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

For him, this is a moral responsibility to keep his employees working and working. In general, development in Indonesia must be supported even though the pandemic does not yet know when it will end.

In running its business during the pandemic, Tatalogam Lestari always obeys the rules issued by the government. Regarding health protocols in offices and factories. About the limit on the number of employees who may enter and all the things that have been outlined by the government and related agencies. "We do have a desire to continue producing, but all of that must also refer to government regulations, especially in the enforcement of health protocols," said Stephanus Koeswandi.