The industrial picture

A heavyweight slice of the export economy

Karnal sits at the centre of India's basmati rice export trade, with a strong dairy belt, a national dairy research campus, regional agricultural research stations and a steady run of agri-equipment and food-processing units feeding off NH-44. Almost every outgoing shipment from the city is either a food-grade export carton load, a heavy and irregular piece of agri-equipment, or research material bound for a partner institute abroad. All three specify plywood, not solid wood, for the outer pack.

Industrial activity is spread across a few well-defined corridors rather than one estate. Buyers we work with are usually located in or shipping out of:

• Sector 3 and Sector 6 industrial areas — older HSIIDC plotted estates with rice mills, dal units and packaging converters.
• HSIIDC Industrial Estate, Karnal (Sector 39 / Bastara belt) — newer plots running along NH-44 toward Panipat, with agri-machinery, cold storage and food-processing units.
• Taraori and Nilokheri belts — the basmati paddy heartland north of the city, where mills and exporters dominate.
• Madhuban / dairy-research campus zone — dairy research, instrumentation and pilot-plant equipment that ships in crates.
• Regional agricultural research stations — research consignments that demand heat-treated export crating for instruments and germplasm shipments.

What we ship

The material mix flowing into Karnal

The grade and thickness pattern we send up the lane is predictable. Here is what we manufacture for the city's main verticals.

Packing-grade plywood for rice and food export

Basmati exporters in Taraori, Nilokheri and Sector 3 ship in 20 ft and 40 ft containers, usually with stacked 5 kg, 10 kg and 20 kg consumer bags inside master cartons. The plywood goes into:

• Bottom load boards and dunnage sheets — 12 mm and 14 mm commercial / rubberwood packing-grade ply, 4x8 ft, to spread point loads on the container floor and protect the bottom layer of bags during long sea voyages to the GCC, EU and US.
• Top covers and side liners — 8 mm and 10 mm sheets to stop carton crush during stevedoring.
• Pallet decks for reefer or dry export — 12 mm packing-grade ply on a hardwood runner frame for 1100x1100 mm and 1200x1000 mm pallets.

Crates for agri-equipment, dairy-plant parts and research instruments

This is where heat-treated construction becomes non-negotiable. For the city's agri-machinery makers and for research and dairy-plant export consignments we typically build:

• Closed crates in 12 mm or 15 mm packing-grade plywood on a 75x50 mm or 100x50 mm hardwood frame.
• Open slatted crates with 18 mm sheets where the consignment is large but light (extruded parts, frames, panels).
• Heavy-duty bolted crates with 18 mm plywood skins and internal bracing for transformers, pump assemblies and dairy-plant equipment.

Pallets and container flooring

Standard four-way entry pallets in 1200x1000 mm and 1100x1100 mm are the bulk of pallet demand for the city's exporters. For specialised machinery loads out of the HSIIDC Sector 39 belt we also supply pre-cut 18 mm container flooring blanks sized to drop into 20 ft and 40 ft container floors as a sacrificial layer protecting the original deck.

Indicative selling rates (ex-factory, GST and transport extra)

Logistics

Kochi-to-Karnal, two ways

Karnal is roughly 2,350 km from our Perumbavoor cluster by road. We work the lane two ways depending on volume and urgency:

1. Full-truck road movement — single-driver and team-driver 32 ft and 40 ft multi-axles up NH-66 / NH-48 through Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Nagpur, then NH-44 via Delhi to Karnal. Transit is typically 7–9 days for team-drive and 9–11 days for single-driver, depending on monsoon and Delhi border conditions.
2. Rail / coastal-and-road combination — for larger consolidated loads we move material into a North India hub by rail, or by coastal feeder to Mundra / Pipavav and trans-ship by road into Karnal. This is slower (12–15 days) but materially cheaper on per-sheet landed cost for very large orders.

For most Karnal buyers the full-truckload road option wins because it delivers directly into the factory gate without a second handling. Cut sizes and pre-assembled crate kits are loaded so the buyer can unload onto a level surface and move straight to the packing line. Crates built for export are constructed from heat-treated timber and carry the IPPC mark, clearing ISPM-15 phytosanitary inspection at the port of loading without rework.

Choosing a grade

Packing grade vs Okoume vs shuttering ply

Karnal buyers ask this often, so a clear short answer:

• Use packing-grade commercial / rubberwood plywood for rice export pallets, dunnage, food-export crates and most agri-equipment cases. It is the workhorse and the rate card above is built around it.
• Specify an Okoume face veneer when the consignee is European or Japanese and demands a clean, light, uniform face — for example precision instruments shipped from research labs to overseas partners, or premium machinery exports where the crate itself is part of the buyer experience. Okoume is a face-veneer option on the MR-Packing and BWR grades, not a separate quality tier.
• Use shuttering ply only if the end use is concrete formwork on a Karnal construction project. Shuttering grade is a poor choice for export packing — it is heavier, oilier and not designed for one-way disposable use.

FAQ

Karnal buyers ask

Do you handle ISPM-15 marking for our export crates?

Yes. Crates built for export consignments out of Karnal are constructed from heat-treated timber and stencilled with the IPPC mark and our registered HT facility code, so they clear phytosanitary inspection at any port of loading without rework.

What is the minimum order you'll send to Karnal?

Because of the 2,350 km lane, the economics work best at a full truckload — roughly 18–22 tonnes of plywood and timber. We do consolidate smaller orders with other North India deliveries where the schedule allows; ask us when you enquire.

Can you cut sheets to size before despatch?

Yes. Most Karnal customers receive pre-cut blanks matched to their carton, pallet or crate drawing. Cutting at our Kerala plant reduces site waste and lets you unload directly onto the packing line.

Get a quote

Quote your Karnal consignment

If you are a rice exporter, agri-equipment manufacturer, dairy-plant supplier or research institute in or around Karnal and you need packing-grade plywood, export crates, pallets or container flooring delivered to your factory gate, we would be glad to quote the consignment. Share thickness, sheet size, monthly volume and delivery sector and we will come back with rates, lead time and a proposed dispatch plan — all manufactured in Perumbavoor by our group, in operation since 1986. Request a quote from our team, or browse the resource hub for specifications, ISPM-15 notes and packing-case design guides before you write to us.