Under the guidance of Rumah BUMN Rembang, Ardiyansyah Penetrates Chinese Market with Stingray Leather Craft Products

Stingray leather is generally considered waste because it has a hard texture and is difficult to process. This assumption does not apply to Ardiyansyah, owner of the business "Arma Leather and Craft". Through his skilled hand, stingray leather is processed into high-value handicrafts. In fact, his business is now getting more advanced due to the assistance of Rumah BUMN (RB) Rembang which is managed by PT Semen Gresik, a subsidiary of PT Semen Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (SIG).

Ardiyansyah, or familiarly called Ardi, started a leather handicraft business in 2013 with the knowledge he gained while studying Leather, Rubber and Plastic Materials at a university in Yogyakarta. With capital of IDR 1.5 million, Ardi can now sell up to 250 pieces of crusted stingray leather (which has been tanned), and 50 finished products such as wallets, bags, etc., with a turnover of up to IDR 50 million per month. 

“Alhamdulillah, my business has now made a lot of progress. Customers continue to increase and not only from Rembang. But many of them come from Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, and outside Java such as Medan, Palembang, Kalimantan and as far away as Raja Ampat. "In fact, I have customer from Chinese who regularly order my products, and recently there were orders from resellers for the market in Malaysia," said Ardi.

Ardi said that initially he used starry triggerfish and puffer fish leather in his business. However, as time goes by, the trend decreases and raw materials are difficult to obtain. Until finally he switched to stingray leather because he saw that there was an abundance of it in Rembang and only a few or no one was using it. 

"As far as I know, in Rembang I am the only one who makes business from stingray leather. There used to be one, but now it's rarely heard of. Because making stingray leather is quite complicated. It requires special skills and patience because the process is long, up to 15 days, starting from tanning to producing crusty leather sheets," said Ardi.

Another difficulty faced by Ardi is product marketing, considering that those interested in his products come from the upper middle class. Products made from stingray leather are also recognized for their strength and are therefore durable.

Ardi is grateful to be able to join RB Rembang in 2020. Apart from entrusting products, he also received various training, ranging from online marketing, managerial, to being included in exhibitions. The products are also included in the Hampers Berkah UKM Rembang program before Eid al-Fitr. For Ardi, RB Rembang is like energy that spurs his enthusiasm to advance his business and provide benefits to the people around him. 

"In 2015, my average turnover was still IDR 7 million per month. That's still relatively small. In the end, everything was done by myself with the help of my wife because I couldn't pay the employees. But now I am assisted by seven employees. Alhamdulillah i can be useful for others. Thank you SIG, Semen Gresik, and RB Rembang for the support in advancing MSMEs. I am very enthusiastic about joining RB Rembang which provides intensive assistance. Hopefully RB Rembang will continue to exist so that it can provide wider benefits," concluded Ardi.

SIG Corporate Secretary, Vita Mahreyni, said that Ardiyansyah's success story in building a handicraft business from stingray leather has strengthened SIG's determination and commitment as a state-owned company to continue supporting the performance and growth of MSMEs through mentoring and training so that they can compete on the national and global stage. 

"MSMEs play an important role in the economy because they support community empowerment to alleviate social problems such as poverty by creating employment opportunities. "SIG is committed to continuing to support the progress of MSMEs so that more successful entrepreneurs will be born who will provide benefits to the progress of the nation and state," said Vita Mahreyni.