By 1995, the facility had gained sufficient expertise to begin production of electric guitars as well, followed by upright pianos in 1996 and grand piano production in 1998. The Indonesian subsidiary gradually took over production of the company's entry-level instruments, beginning with acoustic guitars in 1993. The new subsidiary, PT Samick Indonesia, began operation in 1993. This large-scale plant was initially comprised of six wood processing mills, a sawmill, a veneer board mill, seasoning facilities, and various other additional facilities on approximately 40000 acres. In 1992, Samick opened a $30 million, 430,000-square-meter plant in Bogor, Indonesia. The rising standard of living in Korea in the 90's led to increased wage and production costs, and the musical instrument industry began to look to new, lower-cost markets. It is a major manufacturer for a number of well-known brands, including low-end models for Fender and Gibson brands. Samick is the worlds largest producer of stringed instruments and has a huge presence in Indonesia producing half a million copies annually (total guitar production in Indonesia was 600,000 in 2002). dollar, and most-favored nation status with the U.S., a designation that allows Indonesian-produced products to come into the U.S. What attracted firms like Samick, Yamaha, and Kawai to invest in Indonesia was a combination of a stable workforce, nearby access to 80% of the materials that go into pianos and guitars, a stable currency linked to the U.S. As a rule of thumb, Indonesian made guitars are generally the lowest price models with the better ones coming from Korea. Today, Samick, at its production compound outside Bogor, 90 miles south of Jakarta, produces about 90% of the guitars made in Indonesia under various names including Gibson and Fender models. In the early 1990s Korean manufacturing giant Samick began moving its production base to Indonesia.
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