Century Plyboards (I) Ltd. (CPIL) founded by Sajjan Bhajanka and Sanjay Agarwal in 1986, is today considered the largest seller of multi-use plywood and decorative veneers in the Indian organized plywood market. Navarun Sen, Executive Business Head, Panels, CPIL, discusses the modern lifestyle trends in homes and workplaces that are impacting the plywood industry positively, and the company's New Age revolutionary building products, with Seema Gupta.
What new trends in interior design are impacting demand for plywood?
Earlier, furniture life was 15-20 years, but nowadays, we are seeing the life of furniture being reduced to 7-8 years. Increasing number of nuclear families, working couples, influence of social media, rising need for architects and designers to make the limited living/working space more comfortable, beautiful and practical, have made the trend of changing furniture frequently a must now. This has impacted the plywood business heavily. Moreover, higher disposable income of consumers and encouraging government policy in the housing sector has also impacted the plywood business positively. The same trend is continuing in the office segment with ordinary office furniture being replaced by more contemporary and trendy pieces. Also, there is increasing on-line furniture and readymade furniture purchases being made, particularly in urban areas. However, there is a broadening of the bottom of the pyramid and we expect demand to remain steady in the coming years. Our award winning products have been redefining Indian realty and bringing about a paradigm shift in the concept of living spaces.
How is the Century plywood brand positioned across different regions of India?
CenturyPly has been the front-runner in applying innovation at work. This simple philosophy has been the cornerstone of all our processes and technologies. It has led us to design and deliver contemporary lifestyle statements that have become synonymous with modern living. Our products are available across India and our brand is positioned on quality, and we ensure consumers get quality products at affordable prices. We are experiencing a paradigm shift in the plywood industry, which is moving from commodity to consumer product. Our recent TV ad is made considering end-consumers and not the trade. In the TVC, we have also harped on the quality front and tried to communicate consumer disadvantages by not using CenturyPly. Our sales are equally poised across all the regions.
Century has a comprehensive range of products. Going forward, how do you plan to consolidate/strengthen your brand presence?
CPIL is manufacturing the entire range of commercial, marine, shuttering and decorative plywood, besides veneers, doors, MDF, prelam, face veneers, Exteria brand of exterior laminates, and Nesta furniture and modular kitchens. Our comprehensive range of products covers all the price points. We have rationalized our brand tree to some extent, and going forward (after GST may be) we will consolidate our brands. Presently, we are focusing more on our mother brand Century Ply Club Prime and our commercial brand Sainik. We are investing money both in ATL and BTL on these two brands. We are the only company in the industry to start brand ads and the response has been quite favourable. As I mentioned, post GST, the scenario might change and based on that, we will further strengthen our brands. We have already launched two new products in the non-wood segment under the brands' names Zykron and Starke. Zykron is a fibre cement board and Starke is a PVC panel. Both the products have been launched in pan India and are doing reasonably well. While we establish ourselves in this new product, we have plans to launch many interesting products for outdoor applications. We are geared-up to diversify into New Age products in order to remain competitive and investor-friendly.
What new opportunities does the company plan to tap in the near future?
As pioneers in Borer-proof Plywood and Boiling Water Resistant (BWR) Decorative Veneers and Laminates in India, we have successfully created a niche in the highly competitive lifestyle segment. By giving more freedom to our users, we ensure that our customers have more choices available to help them in achieving what they desire. We are continuously working on new product concepts for today's informed and discerning buyer – offering maximum choice to try out numerous permutations and combinations. We are extending our network in Tier-2 and 3 cities. These markets are dominated by local players. We are expecting a huge shift of consumer choice from non-branded to branded plywood after GST is rolled-out, as we expect the price differential between our brands and non-branded products to reduce significantly.
How does CenturyPly address the needs of architects?
CenturyPly is the choice of architects and interior designers who strongly recommend our products for transforming ordinary steel and concrete structures to expressions of one's personality. From flexible plywoods that offer a unique blend of form and functionality, to specially treated fire retardant plywoods that find use in a myriad of construction purposes, we have the right products to target different building needs. Our laminate and veneer range is very exciting and caters to all tastes and moods.
Now in our 26th year of operations, CenturyPly enjoys a brand identity as the market leader, with offerings that are considered industry benchmarks. Architects and interior designers who are quality and design conscious, are confident recommending our products. We are guided by a simple philosophy of adding more value-for-money products, and at the same time, improving our existing product portfolio through research and customer feedback.
Please elaborate on Century's new generation engineered materials
Starke is our revolutionary offering to building products as it has diverse applications as compared to conventional materials. Starke panels are available in two variants: Prime PVC sheet and Select PVC sheet. The PVC-based panel is a chemically foamed, rigid, lightweight extruded sheet with fine, homogenous closed cell structure with a smooth matt surface finish on both sides. It is environment-friendly by nature, and is widely used for making home furniture, modular carcasses, interior ceiling, partitions, wall cladding, bathroom vanities, decking and flooring, in wet area applications, sign boards, displays, and construction applications. The PVC foam board contains PVC mouldings, PVC Celuka Foam Board, Cellular PVC trim boards. PVC foam board is the best replacement for lumberand aluminium.
Key attributes are 100% borer and termite-proof, 100% waterproof, no fungus attack, toxic and formaldehyde- free, high resistance to fire, amazing colours and design capabilities, great replacement for wood-based products, and easy maintenance. Starke PVC board is a promising product that belongs to the evolving category of alternate material for pure wood-based products, it is time we moved towards wood alternate products. Starke PVC boards are naturally calibrated which makes them future ready. Being a recyclable product and zero formaldehyde manufacturing process, it's our initiative towards a better future. India is a market where wood panels are in demand today and are going to be in demand until we reach the level of other developed countries of the world. Thus, in panel category, Starke PVC boards are a major product category of the future.
Zykron is a unique range of fibre cement solution, and can replace conventional building materials. It is weather-resistant, termite and insect resistant, fire-resistant, has low shrinkage and warping, shatter-resistant, and immune to water damage. Zykron contains fibre cement composite material that is manufactured by combining cement and cellulose fibres. This composite gives Zykron a unique finish, and is beneficial over gypsum boards, cement bonded particle boards, brick and mortar etc, for its versatile usage and ready to install characteristics. It is better than aluminium composite panels and plain plaster.
Application areas include tile substrates, flooring, and underlay, kitchen counters, backsplashes, roofing, shingles, and shakes, weatherboard façade and cladding, prefabricated houses, exterior and interior partition walls, acoustic and thermal insulation, ceilings and underside surfaces (soffits). With its high strength and durability, the product meets all indoor and outdoor construction needs. We are constantly looking out for newer environment-friendly solutions for our consumers, and are hopeful that the industry will embrace this new technology.
