The industrial picture

A port-led economy that buys plywood at several layers

Mundra is the busiest commercial port in India, and the industrial belt around it now consumes more export packing material than most state capitals. It is not a single factory cluster — it is a port-led economy with several layers of demand stacked on top of each other, and each layer buys plywood for a different reason. Polymer and chemical importers need clean dunnage for re-bagging lines. Edible-oil refiners and pulse millers crate machinery spares that move back to OEMs across India. SEZ-based engineering exporters build heavy crates for shipment to the GCC, East Africa and Southeast Asia. And the container yards that handle the port's multi-million-TEU throughput need a steady refurbishment supply for damaged floors — every box that comes off a ship with a cracked floorboard is out of rotation until it is re-planked.

If you are sourcing for Mundra, the demand maps to a few specific belts:

• Mundra Port SEZ — container freight stations, custom-bonded warehouses, ICDs, and the export packing units that operate inside the bonded zone. Heavy crating for project cargo, ODC equipment, and palletisation of FMCG-for-export.
• Mundra petrochemical and polymer cluster — bagging and re-bagging lines for HDPE, LDPE, PP and PVC granules arriving in bulk. Plywood is used as slip-sheets, dunnage, and pallet decks for forklift movement.
• Kutch edible-oil and agri belt (Gandhidham–Anjar–Bhuj corridor) — refiners, soybean and mustard crushers, pulse millers. Machinery spares and finished-goods crates flow back through Mundra.
• Gandhidham timber market — the historical hub for sawn timber and packing material in Kutch, used by smaller exporters and by traders who consolidate orders for the SEZ.
• Container repair yards — concentrated around the port approaches and the adjacent logistics parks, handling both reefer and dry-box refurbishment.

Each of these sub-markets has a slightly different plywood spec, and we quote each one separately rather than pushing a single grade across the whole region. A Kerala-origin manufacturer can compete on quality here even after the long trucking lane, because Mundra buyers value consistency and BIS-grade glue lines more than a 200 km radius.

What we ship

The range we manufacture for Mundra

Packing-grade plywood

Our core line into Mundra is MR-bonded packing-grade plywood in commercial hardwood and rubberwood face options. Standard thickness range is 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 18 mm in 8x4 sheets. The grade is built for export crates and pallet decking — uniform thickness, full-area face, no telegraphing, and a glue line that passes a 72-hour cold-water soak. For the polymer and edible-oil clusters where loads are repetitive and the box pattern is fixed, 8 mm and 10 mm hardwood ply are the workhorses. Heavier machinery crates for SEZ exporters typically use 12 mm or 18 mm.

Okoume face option

Okoume is offered as a premium face option on our MR-Packing and BWR grades, not as a separate structural grade. It is the right choice when a Mundra exporter is shipping into the GCC or European markets and the receiving end inspects the crate face — Okoume gives a clean, light, uniform appearance and accepts stencilling well. It is quoted on request and priced separately from the commercial packing card.

Export crates

We supply built and knock-down crates for project cargo, machinery, and consolidated FMCG exports. The crate construction uses our packing-grade plywood as the skin, jackwood or rubberwood runners as the framing, and is delivered ISPM-15 compliant where the destination requires heat-treated wood. Crate sizes are built to the customer's cargo dimensions; we do not stock-and-sell fixed sizes for Mundra because the SEZ flow is too varied.

Pallets

Standard pallet sizes shipped to Mundra are 1200x800 mm (Euro), 1200x1000 mm (ISO), and 1100x1100 mm (GCC/Asia). Two-way and four-way entry, with plywood top deck on hardwood runners. ISPM-15 heat-treatment marking is available on the runner stock. For polymer-bagging lines we also build heavier-duty pallets with double bottom boards rated for repeated forklift cycles.

Container flooring plywood

For the container repair yards near the port, we supply 28 mm container floor plywood in the standard 2400x1160 mm and 2400x2400 mm cut sizes, hardwood face, phenolic bonded. This is a specific spec — not packing ply, not shuttering ply — and is quoted as a separate line.

Logistics

The Kochi-to-Mundra lane

The trucking lane runs roughly 1,900 km from our Perumbavoor loading point to Mundra Port via NH-66 along the west coast through Mangaluru, Goa, Mumbai's Bhiwandi belt, Vapi, Surat, Ahmedabad, and then west through Samakhiali into Kutch. Typical transit time for a full truck is 5 to 7 days depending on the season and Mumbai–Surat congestion. We move in 20-ft and 32-ft trailers, and in containers when the volume justifies it.

For larger or recurring orders, coastal shipping from Kochi to Mundra via Mumbai/JNPT is a viable alternative — longer transit, but per-tonne economics improve once you cross full-container quantities. We discuss the route option at the quoting stage based on volume and the buyer's preference.

All rates are quoted ex-Perumbavoor; GST and transport are extra. For Mundra specifically, we are happy to quote delivered-to-site as well, since we run the route regularly enough to give a firm freight number. For export-destined crates and pallets we supply with the ISPM-15 heat-treatment mark on the runner stock — mention the destination country at the quoting stage so we apply the correct treatment record.

Choosing a grade

Which grade fits which Mundra load

The rule we follow when a Mundra buyer is unsure: packing-grade for domestic-bound consolidations, BWR or Okoume when the cargo will see a sea voyage and humidity exposure, and dedicated container flooring for anything going into a box-floor build. We do not push a higher grade than the application needs.

FAQ

Common questions from Mundra buyers

What is the typical lead time for a full truck to Mundra?

From order confirmation, 3 to 5 working days to load at Perumbavoor, plus 5 to 7 days transit. So plan on 8 to 12 days door-to-door for a standard packing-ply truckload. Pre-cut and ISPM-treated stock can extend this by 2 to 3 days.

Can you supply against an SEZ purchase order with the SEZ documentation?

Yes. SEZ-bonded supply requires the buyer's SEZ unit approval, ARE-1 / GST documentation, and our regular E-way bill. We handle the paperwork side once your buyer details are in.

Do you provide ISPM-15 marking on crates and pallets shipped to Mundra?

Yes — for export-destined crates and pallets we supply with the heat-treatment mark on the runner stock. Mention the destination country at the quoting stage so we apply the correct treatment record.

Get a quote

Get a Mundra quote

Our group has manufactured plywood in Perumbavoor since 1986 — 40+ years of group operations behind the current product range. If you are crating for an SEZ exporter, re-bagging polymer at the port cluster, or running a container repair yard near Mundra, send us the spec and the monthly volume and we will come back with a delivered-to-site quote within a working day. Start with a short brief on our request a quote page, or browse the grade comparison and load-case studies in our resource hub first if you want to firm up the spec before reaching out.