Century Ply forms JV with Chinese co to produce doors, frames

Century Plyboards (India) Ltd today said it has formed a joint venture with a Chinese company for manufacturing doors and frames.

"We have formed a 60:40 joint venture with a Chinese company, Goldea, for manufacturing doors and frames. We will hold 60 per cent in the company," Century Ply Chairman Sajjan Bhajanka said on the sidelines of the company's annual general meeting here.

He said a new plant for doors and frames will come up close to the company's medium-density fibreboard (MDF) facility at Hoshiarpur, Punjab, which is likely to be commissioned in the next few months.

The company has invested Rs 400 crore in the MDF plant at Hoshiarpur.
 

Century Ply will initially spend about Rs 80 crore on the doors plant, which will have a capacity to produce 2,000 doors a day in the first phase, Bhajanka said, adding, it could increase to 6,000 doors a day in later phases.

"By 2022, the doors and frames market will be about Rs 40,000 crore and currently there are no organised players in this segment," Century Ply Director Keshav Bhajanka said.

Doors and frames will make for about 10-15 per cent of Century Ply's total production, he said. "We will also go for tiles, furniture and decorative veneer, gradually."

With the Goods and Services Tax in place, the share of the organised plyboard sector is likely to double to 50 per cent of the Rs 18,000-crore industry, he added.

The plyboard maker is aiming for a Rs 2,000-crore topline in FY18, growing at 15-20 per cent over the previous fiscal.