In audioXpress July 2016 we published a complete Factory Tour report on Sinar Baja Electric — the birthplace of speaker driver brand SB Acoustics — where we reveal the usually hidden perspective of speaker manufacturing, from design concept to finished products. There’s an exaggerated notion that everything is made in China these days, but the story of this Indonesian company with its own dedicated design team in Denmark, serves to show how truly global the industry really is. Read the complete article now available online.

In audioXpress July 2016 we published a complete Factory Tour report on Sinar Baja Electric — the birthplace of speaker driver brand SB Acoustics — where we reveal the usually hidden perspective of speaker manufacturing, from design concept to finished products. There’s an exaggerated notion that everything is made in China these days, but the story of this Indonesian company with its own dedicated design team in Denmark, serves to show how truly global the industry really is.Sinar Baja Electric is a complete speaker manufacturer facility, a group of vertically integrated companies serving an impressive number of OEM companies all over the world. audioXpress visited the company in Surabaya, Indonesia, to see how it intends to convert its SB Acoustics speaker driver brand into a worldwide reference, designed in Denmark, manufactured in Indonesia.On several of the factory walls at Sinar Baja Electric is an inscription in Indonesian, which translates to “If It Can Be Perfect, Why Not?” That says a lot about the company. It’s not easy to describe an operation as large as Sinar Baja Electric. The company is unique in terms of its capabilities and vertical integration. It is able to start with a product concept and deliver a finished product and packaging. The audio industry is increasingly sourcing better suppliers, preferably full service suppliers, which can be a competitive advantage and not an additional challenge to overcome. Sinar Baja Electric certainly is that.The industry should know more about this speaker manufacturing company’s capabilities. It has experience in practically every product segment—from high-volume consumer to extreme performance hi-fi products, which it aggressively promotes under the SB Acoustics brand.There’s a strong chance that audioXpress readers have heard or even own a product using drivers manufactured by Sinar Baja Electric. Based in Surabaya, Indonesia, Sinar Baja is one of the largest OEM speaker suppliers to the automotive, professional and consumer audio, and the music industry, with notable clients that include Yamaha, Roland, Sharp, QSC, Wilson Audio, Steinway Lyngdorf, and many other well-known brands.This vertically integrated company has the capability to produce all parts in-house through one of the group’s five sister companies, with six different facilities, in total.Even for audio industry veterans experienced in visiting suppliers in the speaker business, it is not easy to find a company that combines so many processes and be able to respond to so many different market segments with completely different requirements in terms of volume and quality control procedures (e.g., car audio, professional audio, and high-end hi-fi). While many consumer audio companies outsource in China, Sinar Baja offers a competitive alternative in both high-quality and high-volume projects, based in Indonesia. And the company itself has successfully expanded to attract clients from around the world, delivering products and services from emerging economies such as India, and expanding distribution of its own brand, SBAcoustics.Sinar Baja is also a market leader in its own domestic market, with brands including Rhyme Professional Audio, ACR Speaker drivers, Legacy Car Audio, and others. SB Acoustics has only been the most visible brand to come out of Sinar Baja. Sinar Baja produces around 8 million drivers per year, with a capacity of about 10 million or more with the production facilities it has in place. We know the company because of SB Acoustics, its high-end speaker brand, but that business represents roughly 7% of the total Sinar Baja Electric sales. Its own brands represent 31.5% on the home audio front and 18.7% in professional audio applications. Home audio makes for the largest share of its OEM business, with more than 40%.The vision for the company, as defined by its founder and president, Hendro Sunjoto, is to be a world-class manufacturing company, the market leader in Indonesia with a dedicated strategy of distribution, promotion, and price, while producing mid- and high-end speakers for the international markets. One of the company’s key market segments is the automotive industry, with major clients in Europe, Asia, and the US including Honda, Toyota, Daihatsu, Suzuki, Isuzu, Hino, Kia, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Bentley, Aston Martin, and Skoda.And for those accustomed to lower standards from Asian suppliers, it’s important to reinforce that Sinar Baja’s mission statement includes verified ISO/TS quality standards, supported by RoHS standards. The company also has implemented strict environmental standards.This article was originally published in audioXpress, July 2016.