Automatic core composing lines, pneumatic glue spreaders, automatic loading and unloading, and scientific stacking can help save labour, time and material wastage.

By SUNIL KUMAR SRIVASTAVA

The widespread plywood manufacturing industry in India is suffering from multiple challenges. Among them are shortage of wood, lack of skilled manpower, the absence of corporate culture, and a highly competitive market on account of the lack of unity among manufacturing businesses.

The liberal government policies on import of finished products have also contributed to unfavorable economic conditions and consequent slow growth in manufacturing infrastructure. However, there are various ways in which this situation can be arrested and a positive trend introduced into the Indian plywood industry.

Foremost, there is a very crucial need to adopt advanced technology to minimize the production cost to the extent that there is enough scope to manage prevailing competition, both domestic and international. With better technology plywood manufacturers can attain sustainability in production quality and volumes.

Apart from lowering the dependence on skilled and unskilled manpower, new technology will also help save on consumption of electricity and minimize machinery breakdowns and consequent disruption in production.

Certain areas where new technology can play a big role are sorting, loading and feeding wood logs in the debarker, automatic loading of debarked logs into the peeling machines.

Additionally, the introduction of automatic core composing lines, pneumatic glue spreaders, automatic loading and unloading of the hot press and introduction of stacking movement from one operation to the next will help save labour, time and material wastage.

Indian plywood manufacturers need to veer towards production of calibrated products using highly efficient and quality-oriented producing lines. This will also require the adoption of ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems to monitor real-time status and the introduction of well-organised machine maintenance schedules.

Replacement cycle

Though it is best if a few crucial machines are replaced every 4 years, this should not be delayed for more than 6 years. Regular monitoring and scheduled maintenance may keep all machines in good working condition; but the introduction of developing technology will surely improve energy and productivity ratio to improve economy of the industry.

The cost of replacing old lines with new technology may not be very high because for old machines, there will always be businesses with limited profiles willing to buy them.

Technology upgrades and self-organisation will bring in the corrections required to make the plywood industry in India treated better. An organized industry will, in time, bring about the following changes in its ecosystem:

•        A higher incentive to farmers to grow more raw material

•        Chances of uniform pricing across product and markets

•        Inflow of technical and management skills in the industry

•        Adherence to product quality, manufacturing safety norms

•        Government attention to offer incentive schemes or reduce taxation

Indigenous technology

The availability of indigenous technology and machinery for the entire woodworking sector is a reality already and offers faster adaptability at all scales of manufacturing. Over time, the cost of introducing advanced technology and machinery to small and medium-level manufacturing enterprises will become a reality too.

Kumar Engineering has already designed and developed sophisticated machines, exceeding the expectations of its buyers in terms of robustness and reliability of its products.

The company has brought high levels of precision to its calibrating solutions (+0.05mm) with high-end software, under the guidance of engineering experts from across the world. Alongside, these machines operate on moderate power consumption, are easy to maintain, and have several safety features incorporated in their design.

Kumar Engineering manufactures and now exports single and both-side sanding machines (thickness variation of less than 1 mm), as well as thin laminate sheet sanding machines (0.4 mm) that can process up to 22 sheets per minute.

The journey at Kumar Engineering is guided by a vision to not only excel in engineering but also act as a catalyst for positive change in the world, inspiring others to join us in our quest for a cleaner, greener and carbon-free earth.

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