Federation of Indian Plywood & Panel Industry FIPPI has written a letter on Draft Quality Control Orders in respect of Resin treated compressed wood laminates, Plywood and Wooden flush door shutters and Wood Based Boards and said that the most of the BIS standards related to plywood and Wood Based Panel Products are in the process of revision and amendments. Revision work has not yet been completed. The related revision work has been taken-up by BIS Sectional Committee, CED 20 - Wood and Other Lignocellulosic Products: in association with technical committee members under the Chairmanship of Director, IWST, Bangalore.
Most of BIS standards related to plywood and wood based panel products were formulated long back when commercial plywood were begun to be manufactured. After independence the standards set in the specifications were based on the test results on plywood which were made from old grown, mature timber procured from natural forest. Those selected timbers were suitable for manufacture of plywood and other panel products in those days. Things are totally different today.
For the last two decades, there is very little or no supply of timber from forest and the plywood industry is totally depended on short rotation plantation timbers. Plantation timber of 5 -7 years old are totally immature wood having lower strength compared to 30-50 years old mature trees. Hence many physical-mechanical properties of plywood made with plantation timbers do not meet all mechanical properties set in BIS product standards. Today plywood industry has obtained best technology, best adhesives for manufacture of plywood but for wood the industry has to depend on short rotation plantation timbers only.
The need of the hour is to bring necessary amendment in major BIS specifications related to plywood, particle board and MDF. The aim of amendment is to incorporate the physical mechanical properties test parameters which can be obtained by using best quality plantation timber. Taking any such decision in haste will badly affect industries production target and agro-forestry plantation programme in the country besides achieving 2 Bn+ mt of carbon sequestration potential by 2050 and employment generation in rural areas 2-2.5 mn new jobs across the value chain DPIIT also need to take a decision & suggest industry as to how B grade products generated during the production process be sold in the market.
It is therefore requested that issue of Quality Control Orders in respect of Resin treated compressed wood laminates, Plywood and Wooden flush door shutters and Wood Based Boards be kept in abeyance till the revisions in respect of different wood products specifications are completed by BIS.