Greenply Industries is planning to set up a new Rs 500 crore medium-density fibreboard factory in India by FY28, the company’s joint MD & CEO Manoj Tulsian told FE in an interview.
“We are preparing to plan our next plant, which is expected to be operational by the fiscal year 2028,” Tulsian told FE, adding that Greenply’s existing MDF manufacturing capacity of 1000 CBM per day will be fully utilised by next year, up from 70 per cent currently.
“If the new plant is not ready by fiscal year 2028, it will likely hinder our growth prospects,” Tulsian said.
Capacity expansion and potential plant locations
As for the location of the new plant, he added that the company is still in the planning stages and hopes to finalise its decision in the next couple of months.
“We have several options to consider. One potential site is in Orissa, where we are already developing a new plywood facility. Additionally, we have land available in Baroda for a second line expansion, as well as available space at our Sandila plant in the north,” Tulsian said.
He added that Greenply Industries had previously invested around Rs 600 crores to establish a 1000 CBM plant; the new plant will also be created with a similar budget of Rs 500 to 600 crores.
Future of India’s organised plywood market
Tulsian added that his company is very bullish on the growth of the organised plywood sector in India, which currently accounts for 70 per cent of the market, as the new mandatory Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms for plywood manufacturing are expected to come into effect from February 2026.
The move is also expected to curb the import of low-quality plywood from Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Nepal. This is particularly important as India’s trade deficit in plywood widened from $85.83 million in FY19 to $154.57 million in FY24.
“With the new norms kicking in from next year, a lot of the unorganised market will become organised, which will drive our growth for the next few years if norms are implemented strictly,” Tulsian said, adding that if norms are implemented strictly, around 50 per cent of the Rs 30,000 crore plywood market in India could become organised in the next 2-3 years.
The Indian government had, in October, made Indian Standards Institution (ISI) certification compulsory for all plywood makers from February 2026 in a move aimed at improving the quality and durability of plywood used in furniture and other goods. The move is also expected to cause plywood prices to jump 15 per cent next year
Greenply Industries is confident of maintaining double-digit revenue growth for the next three years, driven by the growth of the online furniture market in the country, many online furniture players planning fund-raising through IPOs and increasing rules against on-site furniture manufacturing in urban cities in India, the company’s CEO told FE.
He added that with quality norms coming in and plywood prices expected to rise, sales of the company’s mass brand Ecotech will outpace sales of its flagship brand Greenply Plywood from next year.
“Our mass brand Ecotech will likely grow faster than our flagship brand from next year due to the expected price increases, as we expect it to find a better position in the market,” he added
Tulsian added that with the government’s new Labour Laws coming in, the unorganised plywood industry is likely to experience a higher increase in cost when compared to organised players, as they largely already conform to the announced Labour codes.
He also said that the online Business-to-Consumer market is very limited in the plywood industry in India, but with the new BIS norms coming into effect from next year, it will open up the market for the delivery of regulated quality products directly to customers.
Tulsian added that Greenply Industries is also looking to boost exports of its zero-emission plywood products to countries in Europe in the next few years.