PT Cahaya Kalbar Tbk was founded by Mr. Joseph Tjahjadi in 1968. The first factory was built in Pontianak West Kalimantan some 34 years ago, to produce large volume of crude coconut oil. Since 1985 the illipe nut has been processed into illipe butter at this factory. Illipe butter is an exotic and high value vegetable fat. Its trees are only grown in tropical forest of Kalimantan (Borneo).

The founder has been in commodity trading and exporting for many years. His business strategy is to stay close to the core business of vegetable oil related industries, taking conservatives approach and calculated risks.

In the mid of seventies, Hardy Sunarcia, the founder's son, a chemical engineer graduated from the University of Sydney, joined the Company as the managing director. He ensures that not only will the traditional conservatism of the Company will be maintained, but also that with care, research and motivation, the growth of the business will be a dynamic one and carried into the 21st century and beyond.

PT Cahaya Kalbar Tbk was one of the pioneers in palm oil fractionation and introduced palm olein cooking oil into Indonesian market. Today it is the main producer of Speciality Edible Fats in Indonesia.

The pluit factory is just a short drive from Jakarta International Airport. Built in 1972, the factory was originally designed to process the coconut and palm oil into cooking oil and margarine. The factory had been refurbished in late eight-ies to carter for the production of high technology Speciality fats.

Since 1992, the factory has been the largest supplier of Speciality fats to chocolate and cocoa confectionery industries in Indonesia. The factory is producing Cocoa Butter Substitutes, Cocoa Butter Improvers, and other Speciality oils and fats for both export and domestic markets. In 1995, the company acquired the full ownership of PT. Inticocoa Abadi Industri, which produces cocoa butter, cocoa mass, and cocoa powder. In 1996, the company was public listed at Jakarta Stock Exchange. The new speciality fat factory located at Jabotabek Industrial Estate II, Cikarang - West Java was commissioned in 2002. This factory is equiped with all the modern processing fasilities, including the acetone fractionation plant.