Fuji Electric, which is headquartered in Tokyo, acquires Indonesian vending machine manufacturing and sales company in a move to expand its business in Southeast Asia. A contract has recently been signed between Fuji Electric of Japan and Kubota Corporation in purchasing all shares of Metec Semarang to take on after-sales service operations related to vending machines within Japan and overseas. Fuji Electric led by President Michihiro Kitazawa made the announcement in Tokyo on September 12, 2017.
Metec Semarang, with headquarters and manufacturing centre in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia and sales centres in Jakarta, has been in the business of producing and selling vending machines since 1996.
Fuji Electric is currently in the process of having its subsidiaries in Thailand and Singapore roll out sales and marketing activities to expand its vending machine business in the Southeast Asian market. The company's Thai production subsidiary began assembling and producing food and beverage vending machines since July 2014 and went on to establish a vending machine operating company in the country in June 2016 to further develop the vending machine market.
Following Kubota's withdrawal from the vending machine business, Fuji Electric plans to expand its production in the sector within Southeast Asia through the acquisition of Metec Semarang. The Indonesian company is renamed as Fuji Metec Semarang.
With the latest acquisition, Fiji Electric will be concentrating the productions of vending machines at the Indonesian manufacturing centre in order to build a more efficient production system.
After the deal is signed, Fuji Electric now controls 99.8 percent of Fuji Metec Semarang while Fuji Electric Retail Service owns 0.2 percent of the company. Fuji Electric aims to hit its sales target of five billion yen by 2023.
Southeast Asia is becoming a diverse consumer market, especially in the beverage industry due to the higher standards of living driven by its economic development. With the rising cost of labour, vending machines are identified as a viable sales channel for beverages in Southeast Asia.