KT&G Opens Second Indonesian Factory, Lifting Local Cigarette Capacity to 35 Billion
South Korean tobacco producer KT&G has begun operating a second Indonesian factory in Pasuruan, East Java. The facility adds annual capacity of 21 billion cigarettes and raises the company’s total Indonesian capacity to 35 billion.
Pasuruan plant starts operations
South Korean tobacco producer KT&G has begun operating its second factory in Indonesia as it expands its business and export presence in Southeast Asia, according to Konteks.co.id. The new plant is located in Pasuruan, East Java, while the company’s first Indonesian production facility is in Surabaya.
KT&G said in an official statement that the Pasuruan facility will serve as its manufacturing base for Southeast Asia. The factory will produce tobacco products for export to neighboring countries and other markets. The company did not identify individual export destinations or provide a timetable for shipments from the new site.
Indonesian capacity rises to 35 billion cigarettes
The Pasuruan plant has annual production capacity of up to 21 billion cigarettes. Its addition increases KT&G’s combined capacity in Indonesia to 35 billion cigarettes per year. This means the company now has 14 billion cigarettes of annual capacity at its existing Indonesian operation, based on the figures reported for the new plant and the national total.
The figures distinguish KT&G’s Indonesian capacity from its wider international target. The company expects the combined annual capacity of its four factories outside South Korea to reach 65 billion cigarettes. KT&G did not say when it expects to achieve that level.
KT&G currently operates tobacco factories in five countries: South Korea, Russia, Turkey, Indonesia and Kazakhstan. Its three factories in South Korea have combined annual production capacity of 56 billion cigarettes. The reported overseas target would therefore represent a manufacturing network whose capacity exceeds the company’s domestic total, although the figures do not indicate actual output or utilization rates.
Indonesia becomes a regional production base
The location of the new factory gives KT&G a larger production platform inside Southeast Asia rather than relying solely on plants farther from the region. For importers and distributors in neighboring markets, regional manufacturing may shorten supply routes, but KT&G has not disclosed shipment volumes, customers, investment costs or the allocation of capacity by market.
KT&G’s product portfolio includes Esse, Bohem, Raison, Lil, Juara, Win and Climax, according to Konteks.co.id. The source did not specify which brands or product formats will be manufactured in Pasuruan. The immediate measurable effect of the opening is therefore the 21-billion-cigarette capacity addition and the increase in KT&G’s Indonesian capacity to 35 billion annually, while the pace at which that capacity is used will depend on export demand and the company’s production decisions.