Anthony Utomo

Succeeding through adapting

MY FATHER HAS been a life-long values guru for me,” says 31-year-old Anthony Utomo. “He’s a father, a boss and a partner at the same time. He has taught me great lessons by example, and not just words. I learned from him that honesty, loyalty and integrity are values that one should cultivate in everyday life.”

Darmawan Utomo founded Surabaya’s Utomodeck Metal Works 41 years ago and built it into one of Indonesia’s leading manufacturers of metal roofing and cladding products. His son joined the business in 2010 and is its Director of Operations. Utomodeck is recorded on The Guinness World Record for having constructed the world’s longest metal corrugated sheet. It made the continuous 200.9-meter sheet in Rembang City, Central Java, in September 2013.

A graduate of Central Washington University-Lynnwood in the United States, Anthony Utomo received a SWA Media Group Future Business Leader Award in 2016. He has been a member of the Indonesia East Chapter of the global Entrepreneurs’ Organization since 2014.

“Indonesia is still underserved by local roofing solution providers,” says the young entrepreneur. “This has given me a purpose to ensure that our company, as a manufacturer that is 100 percent owned, operated and developed by Indonesians, is able to compete in our nation in the era of globalisation. I believe that an entrepreneur should always be able to adapt to the ever-changing world. It is not the strongest or the fittest, but the most adaptable companies that succeed.”