Jakarta. Viscose rayon producer Asia Pacific Rayon, or APR, recently received an award from the Industry Ministry to prepare for the so-called 4.0 industrial revolution.

The ministry's Indonesia Industry 4.0 Readiness Index (Indi 4.0) award recognizes companies' effectiveness and ability to process big data from operational automation.

Indi 4.0 assesses the industry's implementation of more modern, automated operational practices. The award is part of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's Making Indonesia 4.0 roadmap, the country's master plan to enter Industry 4.0 and boost exports. The roadmap focuses on five key sectors, which include the textile industry.

APR runs a fully-integrated, 240,000-ton capacity mill in Riau, Sumatra. The company mainly produces biodegradable rayon fiber. Once sold, this rayon fiber will be processed into a thread, a fabric, and become a textile product. 

Meanwhile, APR's technology implementation closely aligns with its sustainability commitment. Last April, APR launched a mobile application to provide full traceability of their product.

"An example of our 4.0 industry technology implementations is providing traceability as a collaborative effort that involves many stakeholders in the value chain through the Follow Our Fiber app," APR's director Basrie Kamba said in his official statement on Wednesday.

The app allows consumers and stakeholders to scan a viscose product to access data on its traceability. Consumers gain info on the product's journey from plant nursery to viscose staple fiber manufacturing and eventually on to the seaports.

With full traceability and transparency, thanks to the Follow Our Fiber app and other initiatives, APR helps bolster the growth of the textile industry and propel the sector towards sustainability. 

"I would like to thank the Industry Ministry for trusting us with this INDI 4.0 award. This aligns with our QPC (Quality, Productivity, and Cost) spirit that we run in our operations in Riau. [The award] encourages us to keep on innovating in the viscose rayon industry," Basrie said.

Also, the company has recently released a sustainability report that details other initiatives for clean manufacturing, renewable energy, and APR contribution to the textile industry.

According to the report, APR's facility incorporates the latest production technology to produce high-quality viscose staple fiber while minimizing pollution and waste.

The report also highlighted APR helps the local textile industry to be less reliant on imports. APR managed to reduce an estimated $149 million of imports.

The company also ships its products to international textile hubs such as Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. As a result, APR's contribution to foreign exchange revenues is estimated at $130 million per year, the report said.

Meanwhile, the Industry Ministry hopes APR continues innovating towards the 4.0 industrial era.

"I hope this award can be a push moving forward. We hope APR can be a lighthouse in the implementation of technology in the 4.0 industry," the ministry's Chemical, Pharmaceutical, and Textile Industry Director-General Muhammad Khayam said.

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