INTRODUCTION -
Particleboard is a classic wood-based panel, made from high quality particles of wood / bagasse. It is a low density board with density range from 650 kgs to 750 kgs per cubic meter.Particleboard Plants are specially designed to produce an effective alternative for wood-based panel products.
The Plant utilizes low cost agri-wastes resulting in a high quality & versatile panel product with virtually unlimited applications. Particleboard is accepted universally.
MARKET FOR PARTICLEBOARD -
Industries that use Particleboard include construction and packaging. High quality Particleboard has the strength, durability & screw-holding capacity of near MDF, which makes it suitable for widespread use in the furniture industry such as bedroom units, fitted kitchens, shelves & tables. It is also used in household electrical appliances, laminate flooring, cabinets & floor underlayment. Particleboard has good mechanical performance of fine, neat & smooth finish. It meets the growing demand amongst consumers & manufacturers alike for environmentally friendly alternatives.
Particleboard comes in 6 mm to 30 mm thickness & in the density range of 650 750 kg/m3. Average bulk density is 700 kg/m3 on the average thickness of 18mm.
ADVANTAGES OF PARTICLEBOARD -
- Low Capital investment & lower operating costs.
- Low energy requirement
- Readily available local raw material
- Cheaper price than MDF
- Low density & lower weight than MDF, which makes it suitable for certain applications.
RAW MATERIAL FOR PARTICLEBOARD -
1.Small diameter wood logs,wood branches, dried leaves, saw dust, veneer wastes, wood pieces, furniture wastes & other wood processing wastes.
2. Sugarcane bagasse.
WOODY RAW MATERIAL FOR PARTICLEBOARD -
India has 19% of its land by way of forests. A wide variety of trees are grown here, due to the availability of abundant solar energy. Hence a number of Particleboard Plants can be set up in various parts of the Country to convert these wood wastes into wealth. Since Particleboard replaces wood & plywood, the pressure on virgin forests are reduced & a new social forestry can be developed near the Particleboard Factory to meet the future wood requirements.
PARTICLEBOARD FROM BAGASSE -
There are 450 Sugar factories in India. A 2,500 TCD Sugar Plant generates 1,20,000 tons of bagasse with 50% moisture, in 160 days of working. Much of this bagasse is burnt to fuel the boiler. Of late, the surplus is used for power generation. Some sugar factories sell surplus bagasse to the nearby paper factories.
Bagasse is a valuable cellulose, which deserves better value-addition than simple burning. The notional price of bagasse is Rs. 500/- per ton, which may increase to Rs. 1,000/- per ton on co-generation. If the same is converted into Particleboard, the price of the board will be Rs. 10,000 15,000 per ton.
Bagasse contains 30% pith, which is not suitable for making Particleboard. The same can be used for the Boiler, along with baled sugarcane trash in place of bagasse. It is possible to bale 80,000 tons of trash by a 2,500 TCD Sugar Factory in 160 days of working. With the de-pithed bagasse of 46,000 tons (with 50% moisture),a Particleboard production line of 30,000 m3/year can be run throughout the year.
GLOBAL MARKET SURVEY OF PARTICLEBOARD
World Particleboard lines
Key Areas
|
No. of Production Lines
|
Capacity in
1000 m3
|
Average mill Capacity in m3
|
U.S.
|
54
|
10,726
|
1,99,000
|
Canada
|
17
|
3,797
|
2,23,000
|
Mexico
|
10
|
937
|
94,000
|
Europe
|
251
|
43,563
|
1,74,000
|
Rest
of the world
|
|
-
China
|
263
|
5,740
|
22,000
|
- North East
Asia
|
26
|
2,624
|
1,101,000
|
- South East Asia
|
67
|
5,635
|
84,000
|
-
Other Asia *
|
35
|
2,127
|
61,000
|
-Latin/
south
America
|
53
|
5,157
|
97,000
|
-
Africa
|
21
|
1227
|
58,000
|
-
Australasia
|
18
|
1130
|
63,000
|
Totals
|
815
|
82,663
|
World Average
1,01,000 m3
|
*
Including India.
|
In China, around 200 mills were built by using Chinese Plant & Equipments, with total capacities of 3 million m3.In the rest of Asia, the largest number of mills are found in Pakistan, Iran & India, but the Indian total capacity is insignificant. However, discussions with some of the mills suggest that demand for Particle Board is high & the Indian Sugar Industry could provide sufficient bagasse for more than 2 million m3 of future capacity.
The Particleboard capacities in Europe, country-wise are given below
|
No. of lines
|
Estimated
Capacity in 1000 m3
|
Average Plant
size in m3
|
Europe (EU member countries)
|
Austria
|
12
|
2427
|
2,02,000
|
Belgium
|
15
|
3360
|
2,24,000
|
Denmark
|
1
|
350
|
3,50,000
|
Finland
|
3
|
650
|
2,17,000
|
France
|
19
|
4496
|
2,37,000
|
|
Germany
|
28
|
8465
|
3,02,000
|
|
Greece
|
8
|
560
|
70,000
|
|
Ireland
|
1
|
140
|
1,40,000
|
|
Italy
|
27
|
4500
|
1,67,000
|
|
Portugal
|
4
|
1010
|
2,52,000
|
|
Spain
|
18
|
2945
|
1,64,000
|
|
Sweden
|
6
|
810
|
1,35,000
|
|
U.K.
|
12
|
2945
|
2,45,000
|
|
Europe (Outside EU)
|
|
Czech
Republic
|
3
|
840
|
2,80,000
|
|
Estonia
|
2
|
150
|
75,000
|
|
Lithuania
|
2
|
180
|
90,000
|
|
Latvia
|
2
|
200
|
1,00,000
|
|
Norway
|
5
|
475
|
95,000
|
|
Slovenia
|
3
|
200
|
67,000
|
|
Slovakia
|
2
|
380
|
1,90,000
|
|
Switzerland
|
2
|
600
|
3,00,000
|
|
Turkey
|
27
|
1800
|
67,000
|
|
Poland
|
9
|
2240
|
2,49,000
|
|
Hungary
|
2
|
440
|
2,20,000
|
|
Romania
|
9
|
900
|
1,00,000
|
|
Russia
|
29
|
2500
|
86,000
|
|
Total
|
251
|
43563
|
|
|
European average
|
1,74,000 m3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As per the statistics available, there are 14 Pre-laminated/Plain Particle Board manufacturers in India, with a built-up capacity of around 3,00,000 m3 as under-
Plain
Pre-laminated Particleboard plants in India
|
1.
|
Aurobindo, Nagpur
|
2.
|
Bakelite
Hylam, Chandrapur
|
3.
|
Bharat
Boards, Itarsi
|
4.
|
Daulatt SSK, Halkarni
|
5.
|
Eco-board Ltd., Pune
|
6.
|
Leo Laminates,
Hyderabad
|
7.
|
Mysore Chipboards,
Mysore
|
8.
|
Novopan , Hyderabad
|
9.
|
Nuboards, Moradabad
|
10.
|
Cosmic Crafts,
Meghalaya
|
11.
|
Patil Boards, Surat
|
12.
|
Shivdhan Industries,
Nagpur
|
13.
|
Sri Satpada Tapi
Parivar SSK, Dhule
|
14.
|
Wilson Boards, Kolhapur
|
INDIAN MARKET POTENTIAL FOR PARTICLEBOARD
The Working Paper by FAO estimated the demand for industrial round wood in India (other than fuel wood) as under
Wood raw material requirement in India -
(in
million cubic meters)
|
Sector
|
Year 2000
|
Year 2005
|
Year 2010
|
Sawnwood
(For
housing, furniture, agri-implements, sports goods, packaging, etc.)
|
47.00
|
50.00
|
54.00
|
Pulp
(Paper, newsprint)
|
23.60
|
28.50
|
35.00
|
Plywood
|
1.45
|
1.69
|
1.92
|
Particleboard
|
0.34
|
0.49
|
0.65
|
Fibrewood
(Hardboard)
|
0.22
|
0.32
|
0.41
|
MDF
|
0.40
|
0.67
|
0.95
|
Total
|
73.01
|
81.67
|
92.93
|
As per FAO, the requirement of sawnwood by 2005 will be around 50 million cubic meters, which is equal to Rs. 60,000 crores in monetary terms. As against this, the availability of sawnwood in India is only 47 million cubic meters & some quantity is imported, draining valuable foreign exchange.
Bulk of the industrial round wood in India is utilized by the saw milling industry, consisting of more than 23,000 units. It is estimated that each sawmill will generate 100 120 tons of sawdust & wood cuttings per year on an average and make available totally 2.5 million tons of wood wastes, which can provide necessary raw material for more than 50 new Particleboard Plants in India.
The projected demand for Particleboard by 2005 is 4,90,000 cubic meters, whereas the combined Capacity of the Plants operating in India is only3,00,000 cubic meters. The shortage is covered by Particleboard imports at high prices.
PROCESS DESCRIPTION FOR PARTICLE BOARD
The Particleboard production line mainly includes Material preparation section, Drying, Screening, Resin blending, Mat forming, Hot pressing, Edge trimming & Sanding. The process also needs Energy supply by way of Steam / Hot oil & Electricity.
SCOPE OF SUPPLY PLANT & MACHINERY OFFERED FOR PARTICLEBOARD PROJECTS |
1. | Particleboard production line complete with more than 100 individual equipments lined up for continuous production, with a capacity of 30,000 m3/year (21,000 tons), 50,000 m3/year (35,000 tons) or 80,000 m3/year (56,000 tons) | - | 1 set |
2. | Formaldehyde (optional) & UF Resin Plants including reactors, storage tanks & pipelines | - | 1 set |
3. | Short cycle lamination Plant for overlaying melamine coated paper on Particleboard | - | 2 - 5 sets |
4. | Horizontal Impregnation line to coat melamine on the Plain paper | - | 2 - 5 sets |
5. | Energy Plant to supply steam, heated air & heated oil to the Particleboard,Formaldehyde,UF Resin & Short Cycle Lamination Plants (optional) | - | 1 set |
6. | Electrical control panels, motors, starters & cabling | - | 1 set |
7. | Erection, commissioning, trial run & training the staff | - | 1 set |
8. | Optional Steam turbine & Super-heated boiler of high capacity, as suitable for Co-generation to supply captive Power for Particleboard line | - | 1 set |
COST OF THE PROJECT-
| | | (Rs.in crores) |
| 30,000 m3plant | 50,000 m3Plant | 80,000 m3Plant |
Factory Buildings | 3.00 | 5.00 | 6.00 |
Plant & Machinery including contingencies (excluding co-generation) | 18.50 | 29.50 | 36.00 |
Interest during construction period | 1.00 | 1.50 | 2.00 |
Deposits & Preliminary expenses including Consultancy charges | 1.00 | 1.50 | 2.00 |
Working capital margin (25%) | 1.50 | 2.50 | 4.00 |
Total | Rs.25.00 crores | Rs.40.00 crores | Rs.50.00 crores |
MEANS OF FINANCE-
| 30,000 m3Plant | 50,000 m3Plant | 80,000 m3Plant |
Share capital - From Promoters & associates - From Foreign institutional investors & Venture capital companies | 5.00
5.00 | 9.00
9.00 | 11.50
11.50 |
Total | 10.00 | 18.00 | 23.00 |
Term loan from Banks / All India financial institutions / Foreign Finance Corporations | 15.00 | 18.00 | 23.00 |
Total | Rs.25.00 crores | Rs.40.00 crores | Rs.50.00 crores |
COST OF PRODUCTION & PROFITABILITY
1. Average imported prices for two side Pre-laminated Particleboards in India for 8 ft. x 4 ft sizes - | |
- 9mm - Rs. 25/- per sq. ft. = | Rs. 29,860/- per m3 |
- 12 mm - Rs. 29/- per sq. ft. = | Rs. 25,978/- per m3 |
- 18 mm - Rs. 33/- per sq. ft. = | Rs. 19,712/- per m3 |
- 25 mm - Rs. 48/- per sq. ft. = | Rs. 20,644/- per m3 |
Weighted average price in relation to the plant capacity | Rs. 20,000/- per m3 |
Less:Excise duty,VAT,trade margins& transport @ 47.50% | Rs. 9,500/- per m3 |
Suggested Ex-factory price for both side pre-laminated particle board | Rs. 10,500/- per m3 |
| Or Rs. 15,000/- per ton |
2. Cost of Production per ton - | 15,000m3/year | 30,000m3/year | 50,000m3/year |
A. Wood waste / firewood / round logs - 1.8 tons @ Rs.1,500/- per ton | Rs.2,700/- | Rs.2,700/- | Rs.2,700/- |
B. Cost of UF Resin & Chemicals | Rs.2,200/- | Rs.2,100/- | Rs.2,000/- |
C. Electricity 225 KWH /200 KWH / 175 KWH @ Rs. 4 per KWH | Rs.900/- | Rs.800/- | Rs.700/- |
D. Water -1 m3 litres per ton | Rs.100/- | Rs.100/- | Rs.100/- |
E. Thermal Energy-1,750 / 1,500 / 1,250 kgs of steam =500 / 437 / 375 kgs of firewood @ Rs. 1.50 per kg | Rs.650/- | Rs.575/- | Rs.475/- |
F. Labourers , Staff & Managers - 100/125/150 nos. @ Rs. 1,20,000/- per year each | Rs.550/- | Rs.425/- | Rs.325/- |
G. Miscellaneous expenses including factory maintenance, administration & sales | Rs.950/- | Rs.850/- | Rs.750/- |
H. Cost of pre-lamination based on Rupee 4.00 per sq.ft on the average thickness of 18 mm | Rs.3,450/- | Rs.3,450/- | Rs.3,450/- |
Total cost per ton | Rs.11,500/- | Rs.11,000/- | Rs.10,500/- |
3. Plant capacities | 30,000m3/year | 50,000m3/year | 80,000m3/year |
4. Average weight of the board per m3 is 700 kg. Hence the capacity in tons | 21,000 Tons/year | 35,000 Tons/year | 56,000 Tons/year |
5. Revenue per year @ Rs. 15,000/- per ton | Rs.31.50 crores | Rs.52.50 crores | Rs.84.00 crores |
Less: Cost of production @ Rs. 11,500/- per ton / Rs.11,000/- per ton/Rs.10,500/- per ton | Rs.24.15 crores | Rs.38.50 crores | Rs.58.80 crores |
6. Gross profitability before interest & depreciation | Rs.7.35 crores | Rs.14.00 crores | Rs.25.20 crores |
7. Estimated cost of the project | Rs.25.00 crores | Rs.40.00 crores | Rs.50.00 crores |
8. Pay-back period (assuming the capacity utilization of 60% during I year, 80% during II year & 100% during III year) | Less than 51 months | Less than 44 months | Less than 34 months |
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER & TURN-KEY CONSULTANCY ON PARTICLEBOARD PROJECT
Goodrich offers these highly profitable Particleboard production lines for the Indian entrepreneurs. Our services include technology transfer, design & installation of the Plants from concept to commissioning including Feasibility studies, Plant Engineering, Equipment selection & procurement, Co-ordination in project management, operational training and initial marketing support.
There is a shortage of wood logs in all parts of the world today. With the new engineering technology, the Particleboard Plants can take advantage of lower value raw materials like wood wastes & cuttings, small sized juvenile wood and sugarcane bagasse to produce high quality Boards.
More & more composite panels are used to replace plywood for making furniture, cabinets & specialty products. As the pressure on worldwide supplies of wood increases, there is greater scope for cost-efficient particleboard systems to make wood substitutes.
|