The five legendary sugar mills of the OTHC 

 

The Oei Tiong Ham Concern (OTHC) was a massive conglomerate based in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), built on five major sugar factories located across East and Central Java. Owned by the Chinese-Indonesian tycoon Oei Tiong Ham, OTHC was known as the largest business empire in pre-war Southeast Asia

• The Suikerfabriek Pakkies sugar factory (part of the OTHC group)—formerly known by that name and currently operating as PG Pakis Baru—is located in Tayu District, Pati Regency, Central Java Province (an area near Rembang that was historically under the jurisdiction of the Semarang Residency). Originally established in 1879, the factory was later acquired by the tycoon Oei Tiong Ham—as part of his broader strategy to purchase multiple sugar factories and build a sugar empire—and was subsequently managed under the corporate structure of the Oei Tiong Ham Concern (OTHC).Its headquarters were located in Semarang; however, the subsidiary established to manage the sugar mill here was registered as *NV Pabriek Gula Pakkies Redjo Agung*, with its primary administrative and accounting hub linked to the major sugar mill in Madiun (East Java). Regarding its current status: following the Indonesian government's nationalization of the *Suikerfabriek Pakkies* sugar mill in 1957, the facility faced a shortage of sugarcane, eventually forcing it to close temporarily in 1997.Subsequently, the Indofood Agribusiness group (PT Lajuperdana Indah) acquired the business, refurbished the machinery, and renamed the facility PG Pakis Baru. Historically, its sugar production operations have relied on and supported sugarcane cultivation by farmers in the northern region of Central Java, specifically in the areas of Pati, Kudus, Jepara, and Rembang.

 Colonial-era architecture of PG Pakis Baru.

Source: SIBANGUN KEREN PROVINSI JAWA TENGAH

• The Tanggulangin (formerly Tanggoelangin) sugar factory, part of the OTHC group, is located in Sidoarjo Regency—an industrial area situated south of Surabaya in East Java Province. It was one of the OTHC group's key sugar factories in the East Java region prior to its subsequent nationalization.

 The remaining architectural structures of PG Tanggulangin in Sidoarjo.

Source: detikNews - detikcom

 

• PG Krebet (part of the OTHC group) is located in Malang, East Java. It operates alongside a cassava starch plant—an initiative pioneered by tycoon Oei Tiong Ham, who established large-scale production of both cassava starch and sugar at this site for export to European and American markets. This represented a highly innovative agro-industrial business model for that era. Today, the facility has been divided into two separate sugar factories: PG Krebet Baru I and PG Krebet Baru II.

 

• PG Redjoagoeng (Rejo Agung) – part of the OTHC group – located in Madiun, East Java. Significance: This facility serves as the OTHC group’s most profitable and highest-capacity "lifeline." It was also among the first factories in Southeast Asia to fully implement steam-powered machinery and a large-scale railway system for sugarcane transport.

 

• Pabrik Gula (PG) Ponen is located in Jombang, East Java. Historical Note: This factory is situated in Jombang, within a prime sugarcane-growing region—specifically the fertile Brantas River basin, a highly productive area for sugarcane cultivation in East Java.