These bicycles were found in Founder Liem Seeng Tee’s mountain
home in Prigen, an hour from Surabaya. It is believed that they
were
precious assets of his, most probably used by himself during his
early life.
Sampoerna’s founder Liem Seeng Tee became independent at the
age
of 11. Leaving his foster family in Bojonegoro, the orphan
began working
on the railroad. Effectively homeless, he started out hawking
food carried in
a sarong to travelers in the lower class compartments journeying
between
Jakarta and Surabaya.
Young Seeng Tee spent 18 months jumping onto moving rail cars in
the
middle of the night, with all possession strapped to his back in
a canvass
bedroll. When his savings was enough to buy a second hand bicycle,
he
started a new business plying charcoal up and down the streets of
Surabaya.
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