PT RMI and the Story of the Return of the Sugar Factory in Blitar

Rejoso Manis Indo, 08 September 2022 | Penulis : Muhamad Devi Riswandi
PT RMI and the Story of the Return of the Sugar Factory in Blitar
PT RMI's sugar factory in Rejoso, Binangun, Blitar Regency can restore Blitar's glory as a sugar producer in East Java.
In the colonial era in the early 19th century, Blitar was known as one of the important areas in East Java that produced sugar made from sugar cane. There are several sugar factories standing in the area that is now Blitar Regency, among others, in the Garum District, Srengat District, and also Wonodadi.

Half a century ago, the remnants of the glory of the sugar factory in Blitar can still be found. In addition to the remnants of the thick factory building walls, in some places you can also find steel rails that used to be a tram line transporting sugar cane from plantations and rice fields to the factory.

Sugar factory managers in the era of the Dutch East Indies government at that time were able to make good use of soil fertility in the Blitar region with sugarcane plants. The result is a high level of land productivity. Quality sugarcane supplied with nutrients from soil fertility also increases the sugar content in it.

The Blitar region has indeed been known as an agricultural and plantation area since ancient times long before the arrival of Europeans. A number of inscriptions made in the era of Ancient Mataram (8th to 11th centuries AD) give recognition to soil fertility and agricultural progress in Blitar. The existence of Mount Kelud is one of the important factors in maintaining soil fertility in Blitar with the distribution of volcanic ash that occurs regularly through the eruption cycle of an active volcano located on the north side of Blitar.



The Return of the Sugar Factory in Blitar

Now when the remnants of the sugar factory in Blitar are barely visible anymore, a large sugar factory is standing in Rejoso Village, Binangun District.

After going through a feasibility study for several years, the construction of a sugar factory owned by PT Rejoso Manis Indo (RMI) began on September 9, 2017 through a groundbreaking ceremony. The event was attended by the directors of PT RMI, officials for the Forkopimcam Binangun and local community leaders.

The groundbreaking marks the start of the construction of a sugar factory worth around Rp 3 trillion on an area of ​​at least 25 hectares. PT RMI is supported by a joint venture company in which there is the Mitr Phol Group, a holding company from Thailand which is the largest sugar producer in Asia. The presence of Mitr Phol ensures the fulfillment of investment funds and invaluable experience in the sugar production sector.

This amount is the amount of investment for the establishment of a factory, not including other trillions of rupiah funds that are prepared to buy sugar cane owned by farmers in the Blitar Regency and surrounding areas. In addition to land acquisition, the investment funds were also used to purchase several sets of machines that will be the backbone of sugar production with a current installed absorption capacity of 10,000 tons of sugarcane per day (TCD).

The support of modern and up-to-date machinery and experienced human resources is not only related to high production capacity, but also high efficiency in production costs. In addition, modern and up-to-date machinery also ensures that the production results in the form of granulated sugar meet quality standards, are hygienic, and are halal.

Sophisticated machinery supported by a good waste treatment system ensures that the plant's operations are environmentally friendly with the principle of a zero waste operation cycle. There is almost no waste to be disposed of and cause environmental problems. Bagasse (bagasse), for example, is used up as fuel in the factory power house installation. Meanwhile, the liquid waste is processed first at the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) to leave clear water which is proven not to cause problems for the biota in the surrounding environment.

PT Rejoso Manis Indo is restoring Blitar's glory as an important sugar producer at the regional and national level. The presence of PT RMI is also in line with the geographical conditions of Blitar as an agricultural area with natural wealth in the form of fertile soil. On the other hand, RMI comes with the latest advances in machining technology in the field of sugar production.*