Painting by Numbers

HERMANTO TANOKO is Expanding to New Businesses Beyond Avian Brands.

- Elisa Valenta

SIMPLY KNOWN AS ONE OF THE “CRAZY RICH SURABAYANS” – A TERM TAKEN FROM THE MOVIE “CRAZY RICH ASIANS” THAT IS APPLIED TO WEALTHY FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS RESIDING IN THE CAPITAL CITY OF EAST JAVA, HERMANTO TANOKO (58) SURELY HAS A GOOD EYE IN BUSINESS.

ALONG WITH HIS SIBLINGS, Hermanto helped Avian Brands, founded by his father, Soetikno Tanoko, in 1978 to become one of the largest integrated paint companies in Indonesia. In 2018, the management stated it had plans to raise Rp 3 trillion by selling 10% of its shares in the group flagship company PT Avia Avian through an IPO, valuing the paint company at Rp 30 trillion – the plan has yet to materialize. But since 2003, Hermanto has also been building his own business empire with his wife and children under their flagship PT Tancorp Abadi Nusantara (Tancorp). The holding company manages eight sub-holdings in various sectors like manufacturing, retail, food and beverages, property, hospitality, and consumer goods. Tancorp is also one of the major shareholders at Avian.

Hermanto was born and raised in Malang, from a poor but hardworking family. The family used to live in a tiny house, packed with seven people. His parents used to trade crops and used clothes before they opened a shop selling paints in 1962. Hermanto’s entrepreneurial skills were honed from a young age. He practiced playing marbles until he was really good at it and sold the marbles he won. When he had extra money back then, his father would encourage him to invest the cash to buy commodities that could be sold at higher prices whilst helping his parents at the paint shop taught him marketing and product knowledge.