“There are many who live in the Pulau Muda Village next to our concession areas. Among them is Pak Acok, who heads the farmers’ group there. Acok and the other farmers used to burn their fields to prepare the soil for planting corn. Not only did this cause smoke and haze which threatened RAPP’s plantations and RER’s natural forest, it also did not result in much income for Acok’s family.
Every year, Acok would burn more land in an attempt to increase his plantation area and harvest, but it was difficult to control the fires or work the land all on his own - until RER and BIDARA community officers provided him with no slash-and-burn training and 400 chilli seedlings. Within 3 to 4 months, the chilli was ready to harvest and Acok made Rp30 million from sales. He cultivated more land (tripling its original size) and hired several people to maintain it and harvest the chilli. With an increased income, Acok is happy and self-sufficient. He no longer uses fire or threatens plantations or forests. Instead, he sells red chilli which everyone loves.”
In 2007, when a major customer introduced a new generation of printer, a new type of paper meeting more stringent technical requirements were needed. The customer visited our Kerinci paper mill and a cross-department team gathered to recaliberate the paper machine to meet the new requirements. It look four tries—and much tension and lost production time—but in the end, the entire team pulled through and a new paper product was born. More importantly, the customer was delighted.
As a young graduate in 2011, I joined RGE as a management associate and was posted to Asian Agri. My formal training started at the Asian Agri Buantan Training Centre, where I joined all the other Indonesian Graduate Trainees for the estate training program. The regimented life reminded me of national service in Singapore, but also underscored to me that a disciplined life is required for success in this trade. Subsequently, I was rotated through Asian Agri’s estate and HR departments, as well as Apical’s CPO and export departments, where I witnessed how Asian Agri enabled communities to grow with the company. In recent years I’ve been exposed to risk management and trading functions where even though I’m a junior, I’m encouraged to give my views and learn from my seniors.
Participants of the RGE50 Medan celebration also attended a series of core values workshops conducted by both internal and external consultants. Discussions at the workshops were recorded real-time in graphics, turning insights into succinct visual summaries.
Watch graphic recording video
From Medan to other parts of Indonesia and China, RGE 50 global celebrations went full steam as business groups organised their celebrations throughout August. All share common features like revisiting RGE history and renewing our commitment to the Core Values, yet each celebrated in their own unique style - 1,700 employees in Kerinci formed a giant 'RGE 50' while more than 2,000 books were given out to the communities in Rizhao city! Here are some snapshots of the festivities in the month of August as we keep the RGE 50 spirit flying high!
The RGE Photography Contest was first launched in 2015. Through the contest, RGE employees around the world shared their stories and perspectives using their photographic lens, capturing daily life in the operations of RGE’s group of businesses and in the communities served by the Tanoto Foundation. Into its third year in 2017, this year’s contest that lasted from April to June welcomed entries that convey RGE’s Core Values of Complementary Team, Ownership, People, Integrity, Customers and Continuous Improvement. Once again, the contest bears testament to the tremendous talent within the RGE family. 12 winning photos have been picked from nearly 900 entries and here are their masterpieces which will also be showcased in the 2018 RGE calendar.
‘This year’s overall contest winner, Chandra (APRIL), with RGE Deputy Chairman, Mrs. Tinah, at the prize presentation ceremony in Medan.’
We give our best as a team and achieve more together
We practise hands on management and lead by example
We enable the communities we operate in to grow with us
We safeguard our company’s assets and knowledge
We regularly engage our customers to better understand their businesses and needs
We act in accordance with our RGE sustainability framework
We put the team’s success ahead of our own
We have a ‘can-do’ attitude
We groom our talent by developing their skills and capabilities
We put problems and issues on the table, and act without fear or favour
We serve our customers through stable quality, supply and service
We are always vigilant in ensuring health and safety, and strive for zero accidents and zero non-compliance
Joomla Gallery makes it better. Balbooa.com
The pioneers of RGE as well as leaders and management from our business groups joined Founder and Chairman Sukanto Tanoto & Tinah Bingei Sukanto for a three-day celebration to officially launch RGE 50. Taking place in Medan, Indonesia during the first week of August, employees from across Asia, Brazil and Canada participated in RGE Core Values workshops, walked down memory lane as they visited the gallery, bonded over a uniquely Medan night market, witnessed the remarkable 50-year odyssey of RGE through the screening of the RGE 50 documentary and launch of the commemorative book, and capped it all with a gala dinner at Uniplaza. We bring you highlights from the Medan celebrations, and invite you to check back for more as the RGE 50 celebrations continue in the coming month to China, Indonesia, Singapore, Brazil, Vietnam, Thailand, and more.”
“Typhoon Meranti, the strongest typhoon on record at 173km/hr, hit Xiamen city on 15 September 2016. Despite the local government’s advice to stay at home, our management remained in our power plant to ensure that all safety measures were in place. As expected, our plant was not spared from the devastation of the typhoon. Thankfully, our employees rallied and sprung into action for recovery work. Through our combined efforts and positive attitude, we were the first plant in Xiamen to recover from the crisis.”
“Part of improving what we do is about knowing where we went wrong, what to continue doing, and what to avoid repeating. That is why we implemented a system of documenting every piece of information, no matter how small, from our R&D trials and experiments. Even though this is a system that requires a lot of commitment and discipline, we know it is the right thing to do as future generations of researchers will benefit from the research data and outcomes.”
“In China, one of our key customers for copier paper once made a request for a product that weighed between 79 - 80 grams per piece. At that time, it seemed like an impossible task since industry standard allowed for 2 grams deviation. After several rounds of brainstorming, testing and adjustments, we were able to do the unprecedented - optimise our paper machines and produce paper that was 79.5 grams per piece. Our customer was so happy that they increased their orders by nearly 10 times..”
July was a busy month as our colleagues in Apical ramped up on their knowledge of the RGE Core Values through training workshops held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Apical managers and staff in Marunda, Indonesia were introduced to the RGE Core Values through real-world scenarios and sharing by trainers.
Recognizing that values need to be imparted through examples, APRIL gathered its middle management for a series of workshops and sharing by senior leaders.
“A customer complained about the quality of our goods and demanded compensation. As we could not reach an agreement, the relationship quickly soured and they soon stopped buying from us. Our attempts to repair the relationship failed. Despite this, my superior advised me not to give up. In time, I understood the customer’s needs and we eventually reached a common understanding. This customer has become our regular partner ever since.”
“As a logistics manager, I often interact with transportation companies. The boss of one such company would often invite me for dinner but I would decline each time. One day, he had a parcel delivered to my house. When I opened it, it was full of cash! While I did not know how much money was in it, I knew exactly what to do – decline and return it to him. My role and my values have always been clear – to act without fear or favour.”
“PO&G’s project team in Rizhao was handling two major events back in May of 2016: A meeting between Chairman and a senior provincial official of Shandong and the signing of the investment agreement for the Rizhao Clean Energy Comprehensive Utilisation Project. As the department’s hands were full and time was running out, the project team reached out to Asia Symbol Shandong for help. Thankfully, Asia Symbol was more than willing; in a short time, we managed to set up a team from various departments to manage the events successfully. The speed at which things happened and the wonderful synergy resulting from the collaboration between different BGs underscored the importance of teamwork.”
“When PM1 first started operations, it was a huge project that required multi-party collaboration. We were concurrently managing the operations of PM2. When PM2 ran into unexpected problems, it became difficult to coordinate the resources required as everyone was already stretched. Disagreements even arose between the lab technicians and the Distribution Control System Operators. Thankfully, by putting the company’s needs above our own, we managed to work together and averted a crisis.”
“In 1998, protests broke out in Cerenti, Riau. APRIL’s properties were burned, looted and destroyed. A civilian was even stabbed in the chaos. It was a dangerous situation. That night at 2am, I received a call from my superior asking me to be at the site to de-escalate the situation. I was apprehensive but also determined to do my best. We worked with the local authorities and eventually reached an agreement with the protesters. The civilian’s family was compensated and RAPP helped to rebuild the area.”
“In anticipation of a big oil palm harvest, I asked my team to hire more people to address the manpower shortage. Although many were hired, the new workers started to quit one after another, citing that our daily quota of 3 tons/day was an impossible target. Our suggestion to use the harvesting rickshaw (becak panen) was initially rejected due to their unfamiliarity with the equipment. However, we persisted and managed to convince one worker to use the rickshaw on a trial basis. This worker managed to harvest about 4.8 tons/day and he earned a higher income. Soon, other workers requested to modify their motorbikes into harvester rickshaws.”
“One day, I received a call from a friend who had just returned to Indonesia. As it turned out, he was working for our competitor. Towards the end of our conversation, he invited me to ‘work together.’ I told him that while it was nice catching up, I would not be interested in any further interactions that involve giving away company information. He never called again.”
“At Asia Symbol Shangdong, the jetty maintenance team conducts weekly sharing sessions known as ‘One Point Learning.’ During these sessions, a group would share their insights and mistakes to the rest of the team, providing an invaluable and safe environment for everyone to learn and grow together.”
“Nardi, one of my subordinates, grew up as a village boy from a poor family and had his elementary education disrupted. However, he was determined to succeed and worked as a labourer in a palm plantation to finance his studies. He made it to college on a scholarship from Tanoto Foundation. After graduation, Nardi joined APRIL and has been with us for 3 years. The company has groomed him with opportunities to travel overseas for learning as well as to represent the company. He is a valuable asset to our team.”
