Shree Gopal Udyog ventured into plywood industry in 1997 with one peeling unit and in just one year in 1998 forayed into full-fledged plywood manufacturing with one 10 daylight hot press. The premium quality of the product and services coupled with growing demand soon led them to increase their production capacity to four hot-presses along with state of the art infrastructure. Today, the organization is headed by a young, capable, and committed entrepreneur Mr Abhishek Maniktahla, a new genre business leader who possesses a vision to take the organization to newer heights by doubling the current capacity. Durbi Plywood under his leadership is advancing towards having a super-organised work culture, an ultra-modern facility with a diversity of products with quality that speaks for itself. The interview is worth a read for the emerging entrepreneurs as well as other mid-segment players operating in the plywood domain.
Doors have undoubtedly a bright future ahead. Northern and Central India is the biggest market for it.India is a rapidly developing country and the government is emphasizing on infrastructure by running many projects for which they require material which ispropelling the demand constantly. There are many projects in pipeline and I do not foresee any major issues in the demand for the doors. says Mr. Abhishek Maniktahla,
Promoter, Brand DURBI plywood
Q. When and where did you enter into manufacturing? What were its growth factors?
A. We started with log peeling in 1997 in Yamunanagar and then gradually moved to plywood manufacturing in 1998. We started with one 10 daylight press and production was around 3.0 L. Today we have a capacity of 11L with 4 hot presses. Our factors of growth have been our consistent quality from past two decades and our branding which we are sharpening with each passing day. Networking at the ground level and with industry honchos and engaging public relations has helped us a lot to propel this growth. We understand that investing on research and developmentin product and production processesis the key and helps us to stay well ahead of the competition.
Q. What is your infrastructure and production capacity at present and what products are being manufactured?
A. Shree Gopal Udyog started with one press and now it has 4 presses with production around 11L. Sq feet. Currently we are manufacturing Plywood (IS 303 and IS 710), Blackboards (IS 1659) and Flush doors (IS 2202). Very soon we are planning to enter into densified plywood manufacturing.
Q. What is your expansion plan and capacity building mechanism?
A. We are absolutely geared up to address newer markets, expand the existing product portfolio and make Durbi Plywood a household name. We are about to install one more press which will increase our capacity to 15L sq. ft. We are clear to intensify our production while minutely focusing to minimize our cost of production.
Q. The timber availability in coming days will come down as the plantation of poplar is very low. What is your observation?
A. We all know Poplar and Eucalyptus are two main timbers which form the basis of plywood production. We also know and agree that the supply of both the timbers have been adversely affected due to low prices in last few years. Opening up the licenses in Haryana have led to many new units being set up which have aggregated a lot of issues regarding timber price and purchase. Since past four years Poplar timber was heavily underpriced due to which farmers were fed up and they stopped plantation of this timber which created crisis. The critical challenge for the industry in the days to come will be to support the farmers by buying sufficient quantities at sustainable prices to keep them growing timber profitably.
Q. With GST in place now, what changes do you observe in plywood industry especially in operations of Yamunanagar factories?
A. Well, we all know that Yamunanagar market is fundamentally an unorganised market which believes in selling their products by hook or by crook. Before GST people used to sell their products without billingor under billing which was creating numerous issues for the ones who wanted tooperate fairly as price of their product used to go up with GST. However, GST has
brought us a ray of hope and is the best thing happened to our industry after an era. GST has forced the industry to change its psyche and habits. Now, businesses have started selling their products on bills and accepting bill for their raw material which is actually a big boost for the organized players. As we operate on bills now, our balance sheets are much stronger than it was ever before. Through our strong balance sheets we can avail best of offers from the banking sector. By getting help from banking sector we can increase capacities of our units. All this has happened because of GST.
Q. What challenges do you see from the alternative products such as coming up PVC boards, MDF, Particle Board etc. available in the market?
A. Currently we are not facing any competition in the above product-line as the game is fairer now. It is about survival of the fittest and the fairest. However, in future if the price gap widens then we can possible see some race, otherwise, we are going stable on all of these currently.
Q. In your opinion, what is the scenario of doors industry?
A. Doors have undoubtedly a bright future ahead. Northern and Central India is the biggest market for it. India is a rapidly developing country and the government is emphasizing on infrastructure by running many projects for which they require material which ispropelling the demand constantly. There are many projects in pipeline and I do not foresee any major issues in the demand for the doors.
Doubling our production capacity, investing in technology for innovating new products, sharpening our brand image to boost the recall, strengthen our sales teams, maintain top-notch quality, render dealer oriented services and keep our business partners delighted are some of the key areas we are and would
keep focusing on.
Q. In GST regime the brand, marketing, and quality will play a major role. What are your next strategies?
A. Post GST,the competition is stringent as all of us – from big brands to local players, all operate under one umbrella with similar market and taxation scenarios. I think positioning of the brand will be the key differentiator and will be critical in acquiring and driving new business. We are aggressively engaging at the grass-root level - doing more and regular carpenter and dealer meets to establish a healthy, transparent and mutually benefitting propositions. We are also augmenting our sales and marketing teams to connect and serve to a wider base. It is now about having and managing our strategies and futuristic policies in place to keep breathing freely in the market.
Post GST, the competition is stringent as all of us – from big brands to local players, all operate under one umbrella with similar market and taxation scenarios. I think positioning of the brand will be the key differentiator and will be critical in acquiring and driving new business. We are aggressively engaging at the grass-root level - doing more and regular carpenter and dealer meets to establish a healthy, transparent and mutually benefitting propositions. We are also augmenting our sales and marketing teams to connect and serve to a wider base. It is now about having and managing our strategies and futuristic policies in place to keep breathing freely in the market.
Q. How advertising is important for a Mid-sized plywood company and how much budget should they plan?
A. Advertising is the oxygen and creates pull for our business, especially for the mid-sized plywood players. With digital and social media growing at an unprecedented pace, it has become all the more important to be present and seen continually. Consistent hammering keeps the brand alive. Strategically, a business should invest a considerable chunk of its earning to keep performing. On the other hand if they aren’t doing anything for their brands then I think very soon they will be doing job work for big industries or will be shut down in a short span.
Q. What is your vision for Marine grade plywood?
A. Nowadays selling real marine plywood 710 has become a task. In today’smarket lots of people are stamping IS 710 on MR grade plywood so that they can increase their sale volumes. In market, demand of such fake product with IS 710 stamp is increasing day by day. To counter such fake marine grade plywood has become a task as pricing of such product is nowhere near to original marine grade plywood. My thought on marine grade plywood is very clear - we need to find the areas where there is actual demand of marine grade plywood and to find good dealers who can sell original marine grade product. So my main focus is on cities like Indore, Orissa and Mumbai where there is an actual demand of marine grade plywood.
Q. How to promote Genuine Marine grade ply?
A. Durbi Plywood issues ISI approved certificates and government approved lab test certificates to our dealers which is the only way to stay fair and legal.
Q. What is yor plan for the next ten years?
A. Doubling our production capacity, investing in technology for innovating new products, sharpening our brand image to boost the recall, strengthen our sales teams, maintain top-notch quality, render dealer oriented services and keep our business partners delighted are some of the key areas we are and would keep focusing on.