The industrial picture

Three load profiles, one freight lane

Jamnagar is unusual for anyone selling packing-grade plywood. In one district you have the world's largest brass parts cluster shipping small, dense, high-value components in plywood-lined cartons; a major coastal oil refinery at Motikhavdi crating spares and heavy equipment; and Sikka Port handling project cargo that needs fumigated wooden cases. Three different load profiles, three different plywood specs, one freight lane down from Kerala.

The brass cluster is the loudest signal. Jamnagar accounts for the dominant share of India's brass parts exports, and most of that output moves through micro and small units concentrated in GIDC Phase I, Phase II and Phase III at Shankar Tekri, plus the older Dared and Hapa belts. These are cable glands, sanitary fittings, automotive terminals, valve bodies and electrical accessories — small components, but every kilogram has real value, and every consignment for Europe, the Gulf or North America needs to be palletised, sometimes crated, and almost always export-compliant.

Around that brass core sit several other plywood buyers:

• The Motikhavdi refinery belt and the Moti Khavdi SEZ — process equipment, instrumentation spares, catalyst drums and project cargo. Crates here tend to be heavy, often custom-built, occasionally tropicalised.
• Sikka Port and Bedi Port — bulk and project cargo, with refinery-linked outbound steel structures, vessels and pipes that need timber dunnage and crating.
• Bandhani textile and food-processing units around Khambhalia Road — lighter crating and more pallet work.
• Dhrol and Jamnagar GIDC engineering shops — CNC components, pump castings and valves bound for buyers across India and the Gulf.

Each segment buys plywood differently. The brass exporter wants a clean 8 mm or 10 mm sheet that crates a 25 kg carton without splitting at the staple line. The refinery contractor wants 18 mm BWR for crates that may sit on a project site through a monsoon. The pallet maker wants consistent thickness and weight so loaded pallets stack predictably in a container.

What we ship

Packing-grade ply, crates, pallets and container flooring

Packing-grade plywood

This is the workhorse. We manufacture commercial and rubberwood-core packing-grade ply at our Perumbavoor operation, ex-factory, in the thicknesses Jamnagar actually orders.

Rates are ex-factory; GST and transport are extra. The base rule is purchase rate plus Rs 2.50 per sq.ft on this packing range — kept deliberately simple so a buyer can sanity-check a quote against their carpentry costing in one minute.

Crate construction

For Jamnagar's heavier outbound — refinery spares, large brass valve bodies, finished pump assemblies — we supply timber and plywood pre-cut to the customer's crate drawing, or we ship the materials and let the buyer's carpentry shop build to specification for consignments bound for export through Mundra or Pipavav. Typical crate skin is 12 mm or 18 mm packing-grade ply over a hardwood framework, with jackwood or rubberwood runners.

Pallets

For Jamnagar pallet makers and for in-house refinery and SEZ pallet replacements, we supply the deck plywood (10 mm and 12 mm) plus sawn runners. Common footprints are the standard 1200 x 1000 mm export pallet, the 1100 x 1100 mm GCC pallet (heavily used for shipments out of Sikka to UAE and Saudi), and the 1200 x 800 mm euro pallet for European brass buyers.

Container flooring

For container repair shops working near Sikka and along the Mundra feeder lane, we supply 18 mm hardwood plywood as flooring replacement stock. Not the headline volume, but a steady ancillary line that often pairs with the same lorry as a packing-ply order.

Logistics

The Kochi-to-Jamnagar lane

The road distance from Perumbavoor to Jamnagar is roughly 2000 km, typically routed Salem - Bengaluru - Hubballi - Pune - Surat - Rajkot - Jamnagar, or via the Konkan corridor depending on the operator. A full-truck 32-foot multi-axle load lands in five to seven days door-to-door once it leaves our dispatch yard, assuming no monsoon disruption on the Western Ghats.

A few practical notes from running this lane:

• A 32-foot SXL carrying around 9.5 tonnes of packing ply is the sweet spot. Below that, per-sheet freight gets ugly.
• For partial loads we consolidate with other Gujarat-bound consignments out of Kochi — adds two to three days but cuts freight cost meaningfully for first-time Jamnagar buyers.
• Coastal break-bulk via Cochin Port to Pipavav is an option for very large project orders, but the road lane is usually faster and cheaper for the 5 to 15 tonne consignments Jamnagar typically orders.
• Delivery is normally to the buyer's godown in Shankar Tekri, Dared or the GIDC plots; refinery-bound material goes to the contractor's yard, not direct to the refinery gate.
• For export consignments out of Mundra or Pipavav, ISPM-15 stamping and fumigation are handled at the buyer's carpentry shop by a certified fumigator — we supply specs and timber that suit that compliance.

Choosing a grade

Which grade for which Jamnagar load

Three decision rules that have held up across this freight lane:

1. Packing-grade commercial or rubberwood ply — the default for brass carton work, pallet decks, and any crate that ships and then gets discarded. Cost-efficient, predictable, calibrated for one-trip packaging.
2. Okoume-faced plywood — Okoume is a premium face-veneer option on our packing and BWR grades, quoted on request. Worth specifying when the buyer wants a cleaner face for export crates that sit on a customer's receiving dock and represent the brand, or for premium GCC-bound consignments. Priced separately from the packing card.
3. Shuttering ply — for the construction side of Jamnagar's expansion (warehousing in GIDC, civil works at the SEZ). Different spec, different conversation, but on the same truck if the buyer is mixed-segment.

FAQ

Jamnagar buyer questions

Do you supply ISPM-15 fumigated crates direct?

We supply the plywood and timber. ISPM-15 stamping is done by the buyer's carpentry shop with a certified fumigator, which is standard practice across Gujarat's export belt. We can recommend specs that suit ISPM-15 compliance.

What is your minimum order to Jamnagar?

For a dedicated truck, one full 32-foot load. For consolidated freight, we work down to roughly 2.5 to 3 tonnes — useful for first orders or trial batches before a buyer commits to a full truckload.

How long has the group been doing this?

Our group has manufactured plywood and timber in Perumbavoor since 1986, more than four decades. CWI Pvt Ltd is the corporate vehicle through which we run the modern packing and Okoume business, including the Gujarat lane.

Get a quote

Send your spec, get a usable number

Whether you are sourcing for a brass exporter in GIDC, a pallet shop near Khambhalia Road, a refinery contractor in Motikhavdi, or a port-side crating yard at Sikka, the fastest way to a usable number is to send thickness, sheet size, monthly quantity and delivery pin code. We will come back with an ex-factory rate, a freight estimate on the Kochi-to-Jamnagar lane, and a realistic dispatch window from our Perumbavoor operation. Request a quote directly, or browse the resource hub for specs, grade comparisons and packing-case guides before you write the enquiry.