Assigned by the government to Timah in 1989, Kuntoro found a company on the verge of bankruptcy.

CNN: Tin Time in Indonesia

Still, that Timah mines the future means it has come a long way from its hidebound past.

CNN: Tin Time in Indonesia

Timah has managed to slash its number of workers from 25, 000 to the current level of about 5, 600.

CNN: Tin Time in Indonesia

True, Timah's overhaul took place during a boom, when there was a better cushion for layoffs and other restructuring.

CNN: Tin Time in Indonesia

And despite shedding its welfare functions, Timah may be offering better staff benefits.

CNN: Tin Time in Indonesia

Until a few years ago, that description certainly fit Timah to a T.

CNN: Tin Time in Indonesia

Under Kuntoro, Timah became a more egalitarian organization, where merit and contribution to the bottom line mattered more than job title.

CNN: Tin Time in Indonesia

Under a newly approved expansion plan, Timah is to reorganize itself into a holding company with subsidiaries gearing up to generate more revenue.

CNN: Tin Time in Indonesia

So while the rupiah plunged from 2, 500 last July to 12, 700 to the dollar in January, Timah stock rose 172% to 87 cents.

CNN: Tin Time in Indonesia

Nevertheless, Timah's experience shows that painful reforms do pay off.

CNN: Tin Time in Indonesia

Timah's remarkable turnaround may well hold clues for salvaging Indonesia's other SOEs, more than 100 of which are said to be in trouble The government is to sell off stakes in seven wholly owned state firms and divest further shares in five partly privatized companies under a restructuring plan agreed on with the International Monetary Fund.

CNN: Tin Time in Indonesia