Recently, PT Mattel Indonesia (PTMI), a subsidiary of Mattel in Indonesia, celebrated its 30th anniversary of operation and at the same time launched the expansion of its Indonesian factory, which also includes a new die-casting center. The expansion will increase production capacity of Mattel’s Barbie and Hot Wheels alloy toy cars and is expected to create about 2,500 new jobs. Currently, Indonesia produces 85 million Barbie dolls and 120 million Hot Wheels cars for Mattel a year.
Among them, the number of Barbie dolls produced by the factory is the highest in the world. With the expansion of the factory, the output of Barbie dolls is expected to increase from 1.6 million per week last year to at least 3 million per week. About 70% of the raw materials for the dolls produced by Mattel in Indonesia are sourced from Indonesia. This expansion and capacity expansion will increase the purchase of textile and packaging materials from local partners.
It is reported that the Indonesian subsidiary of Mattel was established in 1992 and built a factory building covering an area of 45,000 square meters in Cikarang, West Java, Indonesia. This is also Mattel’s first factory in Indonesia (also called West factory), specializing in the production of Barbie dolls. In 1997, Mattel opened an East Factory in Indonesia covering an area of 88,000 square meters, making Indonesia the world’s main production base for Barbie dolls. During the peak season, it employs about 9,000 people. In 2016, Mattel Indonesia West Factory transformed into a die-casting factory, which is now Mattel Indonesia Die-Cast (MIDC for short). The transformed die-casting plant went into production in 2017 and is now the main global production base for the Hot Wheels 5-piece set.
▌Malaysia: The world’s largest Hot Wheels factory
In the neighboring country, Mattel’s Malaysian subsidiary also celebrated its 40th anniversary and announced a factory expansion, expected to be completed by January 2023.
Mattel Malaysia Sdn.Bhd. (MMSB for short) is the largest Hot Wheels manufacturing base in the world, covering an area of about 46,100 square meters. It is also the only Hot Wheels one-piece product manufacturer in the world. The plant’s current average capacity is about 9 million vehicles per week. After the expansion, the production capacity will increase by 20% in 2025.
▌Strategic significance
As the latest round of global supply chain obstruction gradually recovers, the news of Mattel’s expansion of two overseas factories has obvious strategic significance, both of which are important components of supply chain diversification under the company’s asset-light strategic line. Reduce costs and improve operational efficiency while increasing manufacturing capabilities, increasing productivity and leveraging technological capabilities. The four super factories of Mattel have also stimulated the development of the local manufacturing industry.
Post time: Dec-27-2022
