Gunung Raja Paksi, Tracing the History of the 'Steel Man' from Medan
Jakarta, CNN Indonesia -- Djamaluddin Tanoto, Kamaruddin Taniwan and Margareth Leroy once shared the same dream. They wanted Indonesia to be free from dependence on imported steel products.The long journey of PT Gunung Raja Paksi Tbk and Gunung Steel Group began with a bold step. At a relatively young age, the three friends built a factory in Medan. The factory was named PT Gunung Gahapi, engaged in the steel smelting industry.
At the beginning, they had an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) machine with a capacity of 5 tons. Provided with family support, as well as from the North Sumatra government and Bank Bumi Daya, the next step was to bring in a steel milling machine from Japan in 1972. With this new machine, production capacity could reach 500 tons.