Leather Products from Garut Show Off at International Exhibition in Italy
By: Indrawan Suwidya Adji, COO of PT Garut Makmur Perkasa
Who would have thought that Indonesia's flagship leather products from Garut, West Java took part in the prestigious international leather exhibition - Lineapelle which was held in Milan, Italy. The three-day event on 20 – 22 September 2022 introduced various superior leather products from various leather industries in the world, including from PT Garut Makmur Perkasa (GMP) as a subsidiary of PT Widodo Makmur Perkasa Tbk.
For knowledge, Lineapelle is a prestigious international leather exhibition that is routinely held and becomes a barometer in the world of the international leather industry. Various world industry players attended the event, where the event was attended by more than 65,000 visitors in three days of activities. Booth Indonesia became one of the most visited as a leather producing country from tropical countries.
Indonesia's participation in the cast cannot be separated from the role of the Garut Regency Government and the Women 20 Group (W20) which is part of the G20 countries, where Indonesia holds the current precedent. Both parties have a focus on developing superior domestic products, both MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and industrial scale in order to compete and enter the international market, especially leather products as superior products from Garut.
On this occasion, PT GMP had the opportunity to introduce the Company's superior products to potential customers in Europe, Asia and Latin America. In addition, there is a valuable lesson that sustainability practices become an added value in the eyes of potential customers, because they will only buy leather products from sustainable leather producers, where PT GMP is very committed to these values.
GMP introduces to the eyes of the world several types of superior leather products, namely shoe upper, leather goods, upholstery, automotive and sheep skin (fashion). Uniquely, most visitors come from shoe companies so that the potential for cooperation leads more to leather products for shoes (shoe upper) and leather goods.
In addition to encouraging Indonesian products to enter foreign markets, the collaboration between the Garut Regency Government with Lineapelle and Unic Milan allows leather industry players in the country to get direct assistance from the Italian team. In addition, the latest research on leather products will also be carried out to encourage innovation in the leather industry.
In the third quarter of 2022, it is planned that the Italian team will come to Indonesia to conduct an assessment as a first step to measure the performance of the leather industry in Garut Regency. This is done in order to prepare a program plan for quality and productivity improvement, as well as aspects of sustainability and quality management systems in the domestic leather industry.
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About the Author:
Indrawan Suwidya Adji is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of PT Garut Makmur Perkasa. Having many years of experience in the leather industry in the country, Indrawan has worked in national and multinational companies. His dream is to bring and introduce authentic Indonesian leather products to the eyes of the world by carrying out the concept of sustainability.