Year 2017 marked a huge shift among decorative laminate producers who were earlier calculated their profits or survival on the basis of liner sheets volumes. Liner sheets are also known as balancing in 0.72 mm thickness use to be largely produced in white, off white or 4-5 wood grains have had been life line for hundreds of laminate producers in the country but it changed up to a great extent during 2017. There was a mad rush to manufacture ‘liner or 0.6 to 0.7 mm laminate sheets that led to inception of 45 new plants across the country during 2013 to 2016 on the formula to produce 80 percent liner and rest in the form of other thin texture or door skin. But with sudden rush in liner supplies leading to huge price drop, such laminate producers became desperate to distance themselves from being only liner manufacturer.
Year 2017 pushed them all in to a corner that has forced them to shift to designer sheets or folder offerings hence bringing a big rush to less than 1.0 mm thickness categories. Oversupply in liner category affected the quality of liner laminates, dented reputations whatever someone had and negatively impacted the revenue that was not enough even to survive.
Liner grade laminate have been an important driver of HPL manufacturing capacity growth in India but is losing its attraction due to visible loss per sheet. Approximately 50 percent share of the total HPL manufacturing comes from 0.6 to 0.7 mm thickness that is advised to be used in balancing or as a backer (inside of the panels where designer sheet is pasted on the top surface) in India. Liner sheets successfully replaced wood paints from furniture and because of its maintenance free and rich look, its consumption has increased multifold. It also helped HPL to create market in rural India as well. In fact various industries that came up after 2012 in HPL manufacturing in Morbi, Gujrat and North India who dedicated their 80 percent production volumes for liner grade laminates or cheap door skins production.
In 2017 majority of them turned into producing folder grade like 0.8 mm, 0.92 mm and even 1.0 mm of economical range. Year 2017 termed as a turning point on this issue because ‘where many laminate producers did not consider HPL making as a ‘quality and design oriented product’ rather taking laminate manufacturing as a commodity’ suffered and learnt the lesson. Many of them are re packaged, changed to designer category but crowding the 0.8 and other thickness category hence providing more new options to dealers and customers. Way forward to 2018 ‘survival of the efficient’ phase will begin.