Durbi, a flagship plywood brand of Shree Gopal Udyog, is a well-known name in Central and Western India. It is the brainchild of Mr Abhishek Maniktahla who after doing his MBA in 2013 from the USA and, and two years of industry exposure, started the brand "Durbi" in 2015. The brand enjoyed great success and contributed a lot to the industry. With much of their promotional work, Durbi sponsored the Indian cricket team in many international matches, like India v/s Sri Lanka and others. Talking to the Ply Reporter, Mr. Abhishek Maniktahla, Promoter, Shree Gopal Udyog (DURBI plywood), spoke about start of calibrated plywood manufacturing. Here is a brief on the discussion.
Tell us about the journey so far
We are working as a leading brand and offer quality products. We observe that the future of wood panels is in calibrated plywood. Many players have started offering calibrated ply. Now even dealers are asking for that. Observing the market trend and demand pattern, we also came into calibration and the future plan is to convert our entire operation into calibration.
Shree Gopal Udyog, the parent company ventured into the plywood industry in 1997, which was started by my father. One year later, in 1998, the company 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 us to increase the production capacity to four hotpresses along with state-of-the-art infrastructure.
What are the factors that attracted you to venturing into calibrated plywood manufacturing?
Right now, a few players in Yamunanagar are in calibrated plywood manufacturing, and to cover the gap, we are willing to move forward towards calibration. Secondly, OEMs and modular kitchen manufacturers are pushing up demand. In the normal commercial plywood segment, there are numerous units, so competition is high and to beat them, value addition is a must. It keeps you ahead in the market. In calibration, a few players are there, so there is good space to play.
the gap, we are willing to move forward towards calibration. Secondly, OEMs and modular kitchen manufacturers are pushing up demand. In the normal commercial plywood segment, there are numerous units, so competition is high and to beat them, value addition is a must. It keeps you ahead in the market. In calibration, a few players are there, so there is good space to play.
What is your vision for calibrated plywood?
In commercial plywood, we enjoy fame in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and MP. We want to win the same confidence of our customers in calibrated plywood also. We want to offer high quality calibrated plywood with no compromise on quality. Our vision is to convert our entire operation into calibration down the line within two years. We will gradually phase out door and board manufacturing as we gain space in this segment. We have to make it a fully calibrated manufacturing unit, and we are working on it. Currently, we have four presses and two peeling units, and the entire production process is in-house. We are trying to maximise the use of installed capacity and focus on brand promotion.
The availability of timber is at an all-time low. What is your observation?
The current situation is challenging for plywood industry, with a high scarcity of raw materials. In particular, the availability of wood is decreasing and prices are shooting up every day. On the other hand, the industry has no option to use other than technical grade urea. Besides, the industry is not able to get the rising input costs accepted in the market due to slow demand. The scarcity of timber is because nearly 5–6 years ago the timber price was at an all-time low and the farmers had to bear losses due to that. Now we are seeing its effect in terms of the scarcity of timber. So, this is a cycle as with the high price of timber now, the plantation is going at a good pace and by the year 2025, the timber availability will ease up. Currently, we have been maintaining our production at 60% of the capacity. But, we can clearly see its bright future for plywood, but that would be for calibration, not for commercial. So, gradually we have converted one press into calibration.
What challenges do you see from other panel products like MDF, Prelam Particle Board etc?
I never count them as a substitute for plywood. Plywood is the all-time favourite of the customers. But, we can see that HD+MR have definitely eaten up the sales of Marine ply. Commercial plywood is still getting good sales, but marine plywood has lost its market. There is no challenge for calibrated plywood as it has various features like uniform thickness, high screw ability, load bearing strength, longevity, no bending, warping, and core gap, etc. So, it has various advantages over MDF and particle board that suit Indian consumers. Calibrated plywood is a perfect fit for OEMs since their machines require uniform thickness. Calibrated plywood demand is picking up at a fast pace for modular kitchen and furniture manufacturing.
What are the specialities of Durbi calibrated plywood?
The specialty of Durbi calibrated plywood is that its thickness variation is 0.10 and it is an actual calibration. Made with 100% hardwood, there are no core gaps. We use 100% composed core that does not leave any gaps in the core. It has a smooth surface that is best for machines. It ensures good bonding since the adhesive is applied uniformly. With no undulation, it looks seamless after application. It is not just a claim like others, as there are lots of counterfeit materials in the market. Many people offer commercial plywood in the name of calibrated plywood.
How much advertising is important for a midsized plywood company and how much budget should they plan?
I keep the industry in four categories: super brands like Century, Green, etc., and then we consider ourselves "DURBI" and many others in the mid segment. The third category is the normal plywood brand that a company comes up without any promotional activities, and fourth is counterfeited material in the market that can be available in any brands.
Marketing plays a vital role in terms of sales growth. Besides, the price structure is also important. If a company wishes to do well in the market, it has to communicate with the market and tell them about their offering and quality. Without promotion, plywood is considered nobranded, and quality customers hesitate to trust them. There is a simple formula-"JO DIKHTA HAI O BIKTA HAI", but you have to make sure of the quality of the offering.
What is your distribution mode and product dissemination mechanism?
I totally work with distributors and do not entertain retailers and dealers. Until the near future, there is no plan to cater to projects directly. The product dissemination is done with distributors only. Now we have come into calibration, so in the future we may join with OEMs for direct supply. We have started working on that. Right now we are working with reputed distributors who need a good brand and wish to work with me. For the next phase, we are looking for distributors in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telanga, etc.
What is your plan for the next five years?
The current industry aspects are unpredictable and industry players are in a dilemma. But, following our passion, we have to make a big brand in plywood and DURBI would be one of them. It should come to the customers' back of mind when they think of plywood.
What is your message to the channel partners and the industry?
They need to focus on quality products as the market is for that and they need to get associated with a good brand that is sustainable. In nonbranded products, there is no future as they focus on just quantity and sales, which in the end lose their market and any efforts made to build trust among customers go to waste. Dealers/ distributors should assist manufacturers, who are currently in deep distress due to raw material shortages, scarcity, and high input costs. They should make efforts to get the rising input costs accepted in the market, and it will be possible only when they accept the increased piece. The industry players should also not do over supply, stop counterfeiting, and start working on brands.