Heinz Enters Into Joint Venture in Indonesia

H. J. Heinz Company (Pittsburgh) is entering into a joint venture with Indonesia's leading ketchup and sauce producer, ABC Central Food Industry of Jakarta. The new joint venture, to be named PT Heinz ABC Indonesia, will continue ABC Central Food's business. Heinz will hold a majority interest in the joint venture.

"We have long admired the quality and strength of ABC Central Food's brands. Their leading brands are renowned throughout Southeast Asia and this is a unique opportunity to enter into a partnership in one of Asia's finest food companies. It will also provide an excellent platform for expanding our combined businesses in the Asia/Pacific," noted William Johnson, Heinz president and CEO. "Heinz's growth strategy is to globalize its core categories, such as ketchup and sauces, and to invest in businesses with strong number-one or number-two brands that bring economies of scale."

The ABC brand is the country's market leader in "kecap" (a sweet soy sauce consumed with virtually every meal as either a table-top condiment or ingredient). It produces Indonesia's top brands of "sambal" (a hot chili sauce) and "kecap asin" (a salty soy sauce). Additionally, the company produces ABC tomato ketchup and is the brand leader in fruit drink concentrates. ABC products are sold to both the grocery and foodservice trades.

PT Heinz ABC Indonesia will employ the more than 3,000 people currently working at ABC Central Food. The company has an annual volume of approximately 16 million cases and operates modern, competitive manufacturing factories in Jakarta and East Java.