PARIS (May 20, 2015) — Michelin Group has formed a joint venture in Indonesia to cultivate and process natural rubber using “natural, eco-friendly” sustainable farming procedures that will involve reforestation oversight by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Michelin's joint venture partner is Barito Pacific Group, a Jakarta, Indonesia-based firm engaged in the forestry, petrochemicals, property and plantation industry sectors.
Barito Pacific is the majority owner of the as-yet unnamed venture with a 53-percent ownership stake. Michelin will contribute a capital investment of $55 million to the venture, whose mission involves the reforestation of three concessions, representing more than 217,000 acres of land, which the partners said is “ravaged by uncontrolled deforestation.”
On half of these areas, situated respectively in the provinces of Jambi (Sumatra) and North-East Kalimantan-Timur (Borneo), Michelin said the venture will plant rubber trees that eventually are expected to yield about 80,000 metric tons of rubber year.