"International Trade Fair for Furniture Production Technologies, Woodworking Machinery, Tools, Fittings, Accessories, Raw Materials and Products"
Frontrunner with continuous plants for the wood-based panel industry product portfolio tailored to the Indian market.
Is the domestic market for MDF and Particleboard indicating steady growth?
Yes. The market for both MDF and PB is showing steady growth in India as well as worldwide. We expect that this market will be doubled in the next 3 to 5 years on the Indian continent.
Tell us about your presence in the Indian market? What is Dieffenbacher's stance on MDF and PB imports into India?
Dieffenbacher India (DIN) is the subsidiary company of Dieffenbacher Group in Germany, established in the year 2007. Since then, DIN has been able to successfully cater to the market with the complete product range of Dieffenbacher Wood units. DIN holds the pole position in the Indian market when it comes to Continuous Plants in the Wood Based Panel Industry.
Import constraints due to high logistics costs as well as higher raw material costs have resulted in the shift of demand for imported board to that of local manufacturing in India. This situation has created a much better position for the Indian WBIP manufacturers.
What are Dieffenbacher's Composites Business Unit's main plant optimization and modernization techniques/products?
Dieffenbacher India is primarily engaged in the business of wood-based panels. The modernisation of the plant can include glue-saving equipment, mat preheaters for an increase in production, and so on.
What are the main business areas of Dieffenbacher? What does Dieffenbachers product line look like?
The main focus of Dieffenbacher India is in the wood-based industry. We specialise in providing complete and tailored plants for the production of wood-based panels such as MDF, particle board, OSB, LVL, insulation boards etc.
Are there any important application areas and advantages of Dieffenbacher that you would like to communicate to our readers?
The advantage of Dieffenbacher Group is that we can offer complete plants with progressive technologies and collaborative partnerships with our customers. We provide the most advanced press technology (6ft – 12ft) and automation from Dieffenbacher Germany, as well as a cost-effective and dependable solution on 4ft. wide lines from SWPM-China.
What plans do you have in store for the year ahead for the Indian market?
Dieffenbacher is quite positive about the Indian WBIP industry.
Due to the flexibility and options it offers, most prospective customers are evaluating the continuous technology over the multi-opening presses due to the flexibility and options it offers.
Multiopening plants have fewer product options and higher manufacturing costs.
What are your thoughts on India's raw material shortages for MDF and particle board manufacturing? How do you manage to run with full capacity despite the shortage pull down the PB and MDF production?
We would like to emphasise the following points:
Raw Material:
Raw materials for MDF and PB are being sourced from the plantation trees. Our customers definitely need to increase the plantation area to have a self-sustaining raw material supply source.
Alternative raw materials would be the key to the success of the wood-based panel industry, and Dieffenbacher is leading the way.
A few examples of Dieffenbacher:
Wheat/Rice Straw/Wood Combination: WANHUA in China, which has bought more than 10 lines from Dieffenbacher, is producing PB and MDF by adding wheat-straw and wood.
Palm Waste: The Desert Board, in the Middle East, is producing OSB with recycled palm-waste.
Recycled wood/furniture: In Europe, this concept is already proven with our technology.
Saw mill: Sawmill waste can be a superior raw material for PB.
Bagasse: Today, many small plants in India run on bagasse or a bagasse/wood combination.
Capacity:
In the last 2 years, all the manufacturers have had a golden run in the wood business. This is the main reason most of these companies have invested in expansion programs. In the future, the addition of alternate materials would be the key to compensating for the shortage of materials.
Competitive Market:
Multi-opening technology v/s continuous press technology: ROI and unit cost are important factors in our customers’ considerations. Since the market is very competitive, the players with continuous technology are able to serve the market efficiently as well as improve their bottom line.
How have the government's recent policies impacted and encouraged Dieffenbacher’s operations?
Government policy focusing on agro-forestry as well as alternate raw material usage will definitely encourage the farmers to do more plantations.
Are there any figures available for Dieffenbacher’s growth in India over the last two years, as well as projections for the coming years?
The last 2 years were quite good for Dieffenbacher Group.
4 out of the top 10 Indian wood-based companies have placed orders with us for new plants.
At a DIEFFENBACHER subsidiary in China, SWPM will supply two 4 ft. MDF plants to Century Ply at Hoshiarpur (Punjab) and Action Tesa at Sitargunj (Uttaranchal), whereas Merino Industries and Greenlam have ordered 8 ft and 9 ft PB plants from DIEFFENBACHER for their sites at Halol (Gujarat) and Nellore (Andhra Pradesh), respectively.
Are Dieffenbacher’s machines and solutions tailored to the Indian market? Are there any new machines or solutions designed specifically for India?
Dieffenbacher solutions are custom-built for each customer depending on their exact requirements.
Dieffenbacher-Germany is offering plants of high capacity with higher technologies.
Dieffenbacher subsidiary, SWPM-China, on the other hand, offers economical and reliable solutions for the smaller capacities without compromising on the plant design as well as the end product.
Interview Attributes:
Sachin Pendharkar
Managing Director at Dieffenbacher India
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India