Achmad Hamami
PT Trakindo is not a strange name for Indonesians in the field of heavy equipment industry, and Achmad Hamami is the one behind it. He and his family are currently running Trakindo, which is Indonesia’s most famous Caterpillar heavy equipment distribution, with wealth that worth $1.5 billion. A man with colorful background and experiences, Achmad Hamami is still very influential in Trakindo business even though glaucoma has robbed him from his sight.
Achmad Hamami’s Background
Achmad Hamami’s leadership skill was definitely formed at his military background in Netherland, in which he managed to earn the rank of Colonel at very young age in 1960’s. However, when he found out how corrupt the work environment around him, he decided to turn to entrepreneurship and started his own business: running math course for kids at home. Slowly, he built his business by starting a heavy equipment distribution company, PT Trakindo Utama in 1970. His company slowly gains recognition in the US, especially since he has good reputation thanks to his clean record as military officer. In year 1971, Trakindo became Caterpillar’s official distributor in Indonesia.
After PT Trakindo, Achmad Hamami also built other companies to support his main business in heavy equipment, such as PT Sanggar Sarana Baja in year 1977 and PT Chandra Sakti Utama Leasing in year 1995. Although he experienced difficult times during Indonesia monetary crisis and even had $118 million of debts, which made him giving his company to run to his children, his company prove to be resilient, and he is still an important figure in the business.
Achmad Hamami is definitely a proof that entrepreneurship instinct and integrity can lead to huge success from such humble beginning. Even monetary crisis and disease will not stop him from keep working and contributing to the success of his business.