plywoods in india

Top 10 Plywood companies in india

Types of plywood in India

Shuttering Plywood - Used in sturdy frameworks at construction sites. It is meant to take the load concrete mix and made to tolerate extreme climatic condition. These are consumables for new site and have a limited usage.

Commercial Plywood – Termed as MR grade(Moisture resistance) and most commonly used in the making of home and office furniture, interior decoration. Its is not water proof so has a limited life. These type of plywood are the cheapest in range.

BWP Blockboard - Boiling water proof blockboard are wood based panel, made up of a core of softwood strips glued together and ply veneer in two sides to give plain surface. It is cheaper than BWR plywood and being water proof is an advantage  . Longer doors in blockboard does not tend to bend like a plywood hence it used mainly for cabinet doors.

BWR Plywood - Boiling Water Resistance is an exterior grade plywood, so it is highly durable when used inside. Price of these are on the higher side and it is commonly used for meeting furniture requirements where the plywood is likely to get exposure to water. For modular kitchen cabinets and shutters,dining tables etc it is an ideal raw material.

Marine plywood – It is made from core veneers of tree, with few defects so it performs longer in humid and wet conditions. It has high resistance to fungal attack, hence it is used in places where redoing the panel work is minimum or not be done at all. Best example as the name goes – in ships where panel has to undergo different and extreme climatic condition.

   

List of top 10 plywood companies in India

The top 3 brands together (listed below) have more than 70% market share in the organised plywood manufacturing industry. Also there are many local manufacturers and importers who offer different grades of plywood at a very competitive rate.

1. Century Plywood 

Year Of Incorporation : 1986

Century Plywood is pioneer in Borer Proof Plywood and Boiling Water Resistant (BWR). It has successfully created a new market in the highly competitive lifestyle segment. There is good range of products to choose from like flexi ply, veneers, Laminates etc.

www.centuryply.com

2. Mayur Plywood  

Year Of Incorporation : 1986

Mayur a pan-India presence, in even remote reaches of the nation. With an extensive range of high quality products manufactured in ultra-modern plants near Kolkata, Chennai and Bhavnagar (Gujarat), Mayur Plywood is in a position of being one of the leading players in the Indian plywood industry.

www.mayurply.com

3. Greenply Plywood 

Year Of Incorporation : 1988

Greenply Industries Limited (GIL) is India’s largest interior infrastructure company with a turnover of Rs. 1997.69 crore followed by a jump of 21.64% during the last fiscal. They offer good range from plywood,laminate to decorative veneers and particle boards. It is a listed company in stock exchange(BSE & NSE).

www.greenply.com

Some other good brands you may consider.(plywood companies in India)

4. Austin Plywood

Year Of Incorporation : 1988

www.austinpowerply.com

5. Swastik Plywood -

Year Of Incorporation : 1996

www.swastikplyboard.com

6. Kitply Plywood

Year Of Incorporation : 1982

www.kitply.com

7. Merino

Year Of Incorporation : 1988

www.merinolaminates.com

8. Sarda Plywood 

www.sardaplywood.in

9. National Plywood

www.nationalplywood.net

10. Uniply

www.uniply.in

note:- the rates are varies as per the cities n quantity required.

Types of Wood & Wood Specifications for Home Interiors

Over the course of the last few years the maximum number of queries I've received from my readers has been around the type of wood to be used and the what wood specification one should look for for different interior applications.

While part of the above query is answered in my earlier article on "What Material to use for Woodwork" I guess looking at the number of questions that have come in on the topic there is need for the article to be much more descriptive especially around the type of wood and their specifications. This post will try to do just that, also please read this in conjunction with the earlier post ("What Material to use for Woodwork")

Note: None of the Images below are my own - these have been downloaded either from Wikipedia or other open sources
1) TYPES OF WOOD FOR COMMON WOODWORK

A] PLYWOOD: Most people recognize this. These  are sheets of wood pasted together. However plywood comes in many specifications based on the chemical treatment of the wood and the glue used to bind the sheets together which determines its type of use - see the specifications section below. Also - Plywood is available in multiple thickness from 2 mm to 38mm

B] BLOCK BOARD: This is cubical stocks of wood sandwitched between two thin sheets of Ply. As is obvious from its construction block board has higher  resistance against warping or bending. It is available in the standard thickness of 16, 19 & 25 mm

Again Blockboard comes in different specifications that determine its use in interior applications...more on that later

C] MEDIUM DENSITY FIBRE (MDF): MDF in engineered wood basically made from wood pulp. As is obvious from its construction MDF has low resistance to warping/ bending & moisture. Also nails do not hold well to join MDF sheets together, they need to be either screwed or joined using a minifix (google for it...). Because of this a lot of carpenters are not comfortable working with MDF. The good thing about MDF however is that you get "pre laminated" MDF in different colours, shades & textures and if used intelligently it can help bring down the cost of construction & also enhance the look of woodwork.

 D] Particle Board: This is chips of wood glued together and pressed into sheets. Particle board is the cheapest of the above 3 options, it however has least resistance to moisture. Because of its low density & weight Particle board offers good resistance to bending especially in applications requiring long panels (such as a 9 foot high wardrobe doors). Particle board also is available in "pre laminated" form and its correct use can help bring down construction cost.

2) WOOD STANDARDS & SPECIFICATIONS:

Indian standards are not very well documented and there isn't much user understandable documentation available. What I have mentioned below is built on current market terminology & the products available in the market for a layman to make sense of the same. The paragraphs below are not meant to stand up to an ISI inspection but should definitely help "YOU" make informed decisions.

A) "Plywood" Standards & Specs: 

1. IS 303 Specification: This is the ISI or BIS Specification for Plywood. This is further divided into (1) MR Grade and (2) BWR Grade

·                     MR Grade: Stands for Moisture Resistance - MR Grade Ply is basically regular plywood. This is also sometimes called Commercial Ply. In laymans terms this can be used everywhere except in the Bathroom & Kitchen.

·                     BWR Grade Plywood: This is Boiling Water Resistant Plywood. Some companies call it BWP (Boiling Water Proof) Grade however the Bureau of Indian Standards has officially done away with the BWP terminology. In layman's terms this wood is also mentioned as Marine Ply & is for use in the Kitchen & Bathroom.

Note: Recommendation for Kitchens is therefore "IS303, BWR Grade Plywood" - The shopkeeper in the wood store will have little to fool around if you use the above phrase. Simple isn't it :)

2. IS 710: This is the "Formal" Standard for "Marine Grade" Plywood - used for making boats & ships...hence this is topic for a blog on shipbuilding & not here :)

B] Block Board Standards & Specs

The Bureau of Indian Standards has the IS 1659 Standard for Blockboards. Again this is subdivided into MR Grade (Commercial Board) & BWR/ BWP Grade (Boiling Water Proof)

Explanation on where to use blockboard and where to use Ply is on my other post at What Material to use for Woodwork
Standards for Particle Board & MDF: 

In India Particle board & MDF are at a stage of nascence where they are bought based on the Brand Name rather than on the ISI Standard. Some manufacturers do cite exterior Grade & Interior Grade MDF/ Particle Board, however personally I prefer to go with a good brand and the range of colours offered than the "Grade".

Posted by:  
Swaroop Bapat
(Founder)
The Interior Master