Shobhan Mittal expects eight to ten percent growth in financial year 2017

Shobhan Mittal, the CEO and joint MD of Greenply Industries Limited stated that he is expecting an eight to ten percent growth in revenues by end of financial year 2017.

Shobhan Mittal has been spearheading Greenply Industries for over a long time and his company is well-known for producing plywood products that meet with the international standards.

Shobhan Mittal stated that there are lots of challenges in the plywood business but things have definitely turned out to be positive for them.

Though pricing has indeed been a challenge for different markets but according to him, their combination of better product mix and capacity utilizations certainly has led to further growth. He stated that the present focus of his company remains on reducing working capital investments which in turn will affect sales volumes as well. Also, he was of the opinion that the year 2016 has remained quite flattish in terms of pricing and there has been a dip of around Rs. 2 per square meter.

During Q2 of FY 16, the capacity utilization for the plywood division of Greenply Industries Limited was recorded at 116% whereas for the medium density fireboard (MDF) it was at 109 percent. The growth according to him actually resulted from higher volume and higher utilizations as pricing posed quite a tough challenge, thanks to more competition and capacities. Post demonetization, the company has faced some tough challenges and had to cut down on its production rate. D. N. Sahu, Purchase Head of GIL stated that the company was forced to reduce its production by 40 percent as lack of cash significantly reduced purchase of luxury goods such as plywood. Also, the management expects that the demonetization move will adversely affect demands for the next two to three quarters and the company may have to deal with the issue of working capital pressure.

Shobhan Mittal is constantly in search of innovative ways to take his business forward and he played a pivotal role behind the demerger of Greenply decorative business from its core business which is usually centered on wood products. In the year 2015, he was instrumental behind the formation of the Greenply Green Strategy Group. The primary focus of this group is to direct green efforts and raise environmental awareness within the company.

Because of their strong focus on customer loyalty, best business practices, well being as well as security accreditations, Greenply Industries Limited has been able to grab different certifications like ISO-14001, ISO-9001, OHSAS 180001 as well as international quality standards such as BS and NEMA of the United Kingdom.

Presently based in Singapore, Shobhan Mittal also serves as a member of the United Nations advisory committee on Sustainable Forest Industries. He is also a part of AIPM (Association of Indian Panel Manufacturers). With constant focus to uplift the Indian economy, Shobhan Mittal has planned to triple the capacity at their MDF plant by the start of 3rd quarter 2019. The company presently exports its products to more than 15 countries worldwide and aspires to further explore the opportunities available overseas. By acquiring Greenlam Asia Pacific Private Ltd as a fully owned subsidiary, GIL is also spreading their influence in the markets of south-east Asia. Greenlam America was also acquired by GIL as its wholly owned subsidiary for marketing and distribution of their laminates in North America. With opportunities available in the African market as well, Greenply Industries is all set to open a manufacturing unit of lumber, panel and veneer products at Gabon SEZ, West Africa. For this purpose, the company is in search of a subsidiary in Dubai to control and manage the new business.

It is also being speculated that Greenply Industries Limited will introduce five hundred new merchants over the coming two years to shape different organizations. This will in turn add to the already existing huge number of retailers and organizations with which GIL is associated.