Sukanto Tanoto – National League

In 1980, RGM established a palm oil plantation business through an acquisition. Three years later in 1983, PT INDOSAWIT was formed as a joint venture company.  Indosawit was the pioneer batch of private companies in Indonesia to successfully incorporate a programme for transmigrant farmers – the PIR-Trans scheme. This scheme was initially established in the Riau and Jambi provinces and saw the successful resettlement of about 30,000 rural families.

In 1989, the palm oil business of RGM came under a newly established entity – PT Asian Agro Abadi or ASIAN AGRI. Over the years, the company developed its downstream and upstream businesses to become a fully integrated palm oil business. Today, ASIAN AGRI has several world-class industrial complexes in Dumai and Marunda in Indonesia, and Nanjing in China.

In 1983, the vision for the pulp business began with the creation of PT INTI INDORAYON UTAMA, also known as INDORAYON.  A mill was established in Porsea in North Sumatra, and this mill was completed in record time in May 1988.

Commercial production began a year later in 1989, and within the year, production easily exceeded design capacity. The mill was ISO 9002 accredited in 1995, the first Indonesian mill to achieve this accolade.

The RGM Group now had a widely-recognised national presence, with businesses spanning various industry groups.