History

PT. Mulia Knitting Factory was established in 1955 by Mr. Phan Tjen Kong, the company’s founder. The factory started out as a garment factory for men’s underwear producing brands such as PIPE’S, APPLE. SWAN BRAND, and RIDER.

In 1967, the son of Mr. Phan Tjen Kong, Mr. Max Mulyadi Supangkat, began his career in PT. Mulia Knitting Factory as the second generation. Within fifteen years into his career, he managed to expand the garment business by exporting goods to Europe, United States, and Canada. Domestically, Mr. Max expanded RIDER’s distribution channel until it became one of the market leaders in Indonesia.

In 1979, Mr. Henry Supangkat, the third generation of PT. Mulia Knitting Factory, joined the company. Under his leadership, what started out as a small garment factory has developed into a textile manufacturer which consists of knitting division, dyeing division, yarn dyeing division, and garment division. As demand grew, more employees were hired.

To accommodate the growth of the company, in 1984, a new factory was built in a 70.000 mﾃつｲ land located in Jakarta, Indonesia. More advanced machinery imported from Japan and Europe was purchased, company’s staffs were trained, management and production techniques were introduced.

For over 25 years, Mr. Henry Supangkat has managed to strengthen the company’s competitive advantages by vertically integrating the company’s production system. To complete the integration development, in 1989, PT. Mulia Spindo Mills was established as part of PT. Mulia Knitting Factory textile conglomerate. Mr. Henry Supangkat’s bold step in starting a cotton yarn manufacture (spinning factory) was proven to be effective. He saw the need for total vertical integration of productions to create a stable supply of inputs and ensure a consistent quality in the final products. Today, PT. Mulia Knitting Factory is one of the most prominent textile companies in Indonesia.

During economic crisis 1997-1999, PT. Mulia Knitting Factory decided to prioritize export market and at the same time uplifting the capability of its integrated manufacturing facility to fulfill international standard. These steps became very important pillars to overcome the recession period.

In 2004, the fourth generation of PT. Mulia Knitting Factory joined the business after completing his study in the United States of America. Son of Mr. Henry Supangkat, Hanan Supangkat, has since been concentrating on the development, marketing, and distribution of PT. Mulia Knitting’s own men’s underwear, RIDER. Founded 30 years ago, RIDER is one of the market leaders in Indonesia for producing men’s underwear for domestic market.

To further improve the quality of products, many changes were performed. For RIDER in the domestic market, Mr. Henry Supangkat and Mr. Hanan Supangkat undertook some breakthrough performances and launched some new innovated products. They introduced ‘RIDER Living Healthy’ tag line to strengthen RIDER’s position in the domestic market. Using technology from Switzerland, RIDER Anti Bacteria has been a successful marketing campaign.

Another strategic decision taken by Mr. Henry Supangkat was to improve the Information Technology capability to support the company’s expansion. He appointed his daughter, Ms. Yvonne Supangkat (Finance Director), to head the IT division.

In the year 2005, PT. Mulia Knitting Factory celebrated its 50th anniversary. PT. Mulia Knitting Factory has evolved from a small family business managed with traditional style to a company with professional management system.