There is an old textile factory in Sawahlunto, producing 3,500 pieces of sarong every month

id kain tenun,sawahlunto,kain sarung,sumatera barat,padang

There is an old textile factory in Sawahlunto, producing 3,500 pieces of sarong every month

An old textile factory at Silungkang, Sawahlunto City was established in 1950 but still exists to produce sarong up to 3,500 pieces every month. (Antara Sumbar / Taufan Razzak /)

Sawahlunto (ANTARA) - Maybe not many people know that at Silungkang, Sawahlunto City, W Sumatra, there is an old textile factory that still produces sarong.

The factory, which has been established since 1950, is even able to produce sarong up to 3,500 pieces every month.

The factory name is the Textile Taltex, own by Darson , he claimed to be the second generation running the textile business.

He recounted the establishment of the Taltek Textile factory started in 1927, a prominent figure in the Silungkang community in the name of Talaha was detained by the Dutch army, and exiled to a place of exile in Boven Digeol in the Papua region, for participating in the rebellion in Silungkang, at that time.

After the prison period finished, then he did not go straight to Silungkang, but he headed to the city of Bandung and studied the weaving system ATBN (Non-Machine Loom)

After feeling proficient with this weaving, Talaha back to village and brought a woven fabric from Bandung to be copied with traditional looms in Silungkang.

"At first the simple weaving was located in Pasar Silungkang, and eventually developed into a machine loom," he said.

In 1950 Talaha tried to expand his business in Silungkang, not far from Fahmi's Warung Soto, where the business he built was named Taltex.

The equipment used is still ATBM system by producing basic clothing, not yet sarong.

On the visit of Vice President Muhammad Hatta to Silungkang, one of the women who had previously been dumped together with Talaha to Boven Digoel requested that Silungkang be electrified.

The request of the mother was fulfilled by the government at that time so that Talaha bought four pieces of Machine Weaving (ATM), but unfortunately at that time Talaha did not understand the technology so that the four machines he bought for just two years lay.

Until finally technicians from Japan came and installed the four looms at the Taltex textile factory, and only in 1957 did the engine begin production.

The arrival of technicians from Japan incidentally in 1962 in West Sumatra many opened a weaving industry with machine tools from Japan ordered by West Sumatra textile entrepreneurs.

Six units of machine looms were brought in Silungkang and in the City of Padang there were six units in the name of the Gapersil company, with the addition of ATMs at the Taltex Textile Factory where the total number of machines was 10.

This business continued to grow and in 1975 as many ten machines were added from the textile factories of Prima Samudra Ulak Karang Padang, and 1977 plus six more units also from Samudra Ulak Karang Padang, so that in 1977 the Ulak Karang textile factory was closed.

He said in 2015 there were 14 additional machines purchased from the Gapersil Textile factory so that the number of machines would be 40 units.

But when the monetary crisis occurred in 1997 textile production was disrupted and workers could only work half a day.

Moreover the condition of the engine is mostly old so that only 26 units are operating up to now, and producing 100 percent sarong cloth with 3,500 strands per month under the Lopy brand, done by 40 people, all residents of Silungkang.

For marketing, it is quite good that around 75 percent is sent to Medan, North Sumatra, and 25 percent is marketed in West Sumatra. (*)

Editor: Mutiara Ramadhani

Translated by: Internship Student of ANTARA 2019