Liberalized legislation new
challenge to Mr. Tanri Abeng
Heineken
Dictionary
Successful meeting of
general managers Africa
President Director Multi Bintang ready for radical change
For Mr. Tanri Abeng, President Director of PT Multi Bin
tang, Heineken's operating company in Indonesia, busy
times are ahead. His company is on the threshold of some
major changes. An amendment of the law in Indonesia
opens up new prospects for Multi Bintang to strengthen its
position in the local economy. And this position need not
necessarily be limited to the traditional field of beer produc
tion, is the view of Mr. Abeng, who is also a member of the
Board of Directors of Malayan Breweries in Singapore. To
him, the amendment of the law constitutes a new challenge,
which will render his activities within the scope of Multi
Bintang even more fascinating.
Range of products
Career
HEINEKEN INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE NO. 19 PAGE 8
Heineken Nederland has com
piled a handy dictionary explain
ing Dutch beer language and the
lingo used by brewers. More
than one hundred words are
dealt with in the booklet. The
reader is also given an impres
sion of how the brewing process
works and of the natural raw ma
terials used to brew Heineken
beer. Dutch consumers can order
the booklet free-of-charge with
each crate of Heineken they buy.
The special offer has been a
great succes. More than 200,000
dictionaries have already been
sent out!
The language of beer is pep
pered with words and expres
sions which hark back to the
traditional craft of beer brewing
through the centuries. The bre
wer's jargon may be old, but the
words are still in use right to the
present day. They are used to de
scribe the jobs done during the
brewing process and during
quality control.
The man who as a boy dreamt of
becoming a schoolteacher, has
risen to be a respected manager,
who now is in charge of a success
ful enterprise. His appointment as
president director of Multi Bin
tang has been highly beneficial to
the company. The brewery has
been growing in the face of consid
erable (economic) strain. Despite
the company's successful achieve
ments, Mr. Abeng has remained a
modest man. In an interview with
an Indonesian newspaper he is
quoted as saying: "Success is a rel
ative thing. I am not yet content
with what I have achieved here. I
still see sufficient possibilities for
further personal development.
Moreover, a lot of effort has yet to
go into the development of profes-
sionalization of the management,
which is quite a time-consuming
affair." The right people in the
right place, that's the essential con
dition for a well-organized enter
prise, is the view of Mr. Abeng,
whose motto is "trade equals or
ganization, which again equals
people."
This professionalization will
certainly be demanded by Mr.
Abeng from his staff when Multi
Bintang is actually going to ex
pand its activities. What kind of
Mr. Tanri Abeng of Multi Bintang
activities these will be, is not yet
known at the moment. "We may
for instance extend our range of
products, but we may also develop
activities, together with other en
terprises, in quite a different field.
As an example I may mention the
food industry. I also think we need
not be restricted to Indonesia.
Multi Bintang may do business on
an international scale by means of
joint ventures with other com
panies", are some of Mr. Abeng's
contemplations.
The appointment of Mr. R.
Duursema, area export manager
for Heineken in Singapore, as dep
uty president director of Multi
Bintang, is to be regarded as a log
ical initial step in Multi Bintang's
envisioned extension of activities.
Mr. Duursema will primarily be
engaged on the day-to-day man
agement of the brewery. Mr.
Abeng will then have his hands
free to focus his attention on the
strategy, the long-term planning
for Multi Bintang.
To Mr. Tanri Abeng personally
the amended legislation means a
new challenge in his long career.
A career which commands respect.
The youngest son of a poor farmer
in Indonesia, he lost both parents
when he was ten years old, and
was then sent to school in a neigh
bouring village by an elder
brother. He attended the economic
secondary school, and with the
help of a scholarship went to the
United States to stay for a year
with the Gibson family who be
came so prominent later on, to re
turn to Indonesia to start studying
economics at the university. He
paid for his studies by working
with various firms as a book
keeper.
Owing to the financial support
of the Gibson family, Tanri Abeng
was able, after completing his
studies of economics, to obtain an
MBA (Master of Business Admin
istration) at the university of New
York. The study normally takes
De brouwerij van Multi Bintang in Surabaya.
two years, but Tanri Abeng man
aged to secure his MBA-certificate
within one and a half years.
In possession of these degrees,
Mr. Abeng gave up his teaching
ideals and accepted a job with
Union Carbide in New York. He
was transferred to Indonesia with
in a year to assume the position of
chief accountant. From 1970 to
1977 he held the position of finan
cial director, after which he
worked for another tho years in
Singapore as marketing manager.
In 1979 Tanri Abeng was ap
pointed general manager of Multi
Bintang, which was then still
called PBI. Tanri Abeng's personal
success most likely is to be traced
back to his philosophy of "Keep it
simple, keep cool, and don't ex
pect to win all the time".
The participants of the Heineken Mission Scope Conference.
Recently Nairobi, the capital
city of Kenya, hosted the Heine
ken Mission Scope Conference, a
meeting for the general managers
of Heineken's operating com
panies in Africa and the Middle
East. For the first time this annual
gathering was also attended by
representatives from breweries in
which Heineken has a minority in
terest. The aim of the conference
was to enable each Heineken affili
ate company to present its plans
for the years ahead and to swap in
formation.
The intensive programme at the
1989 Heineken Mission Scope
Conference meant that the meet
ing lasted half a day longer than
planned. After the close all partici
pants agreed that the meeting had
been very enlightening, one of the
main reasons being the presence
of the managers from our minority
interests.
