Tuticorin · Tamil Nadu
Plywood, crates and pallets for Tuticorin's port and SIPCOT export belt.
Almost everything leaving Tuticorin leaves in a wooden box — salt, marine products, copper, chemicals and project cargo through V.O. Chidambaranar Port. We manufacture the packing-grade plywood, export crates and pallets that pack it, trucked down NH-744 from Perumbavoor on a lane our group has run since 1986.
The industrial picture
Port, chemicals, marine products and metals
The plywood demand in Tuticorin is spread across five or six distinct pockets, each with a different load profile.
SIPCOT Industrial Complex, Madathur
The heavy-engineering and chemical anchor — units making industrial salts, sulphuric acid derivatives, soda ash, processed kaolin and PVC compounds. Crates here carry drum-mounted goods or palletised bags; floor planks and side walls run on 12 mm and 18 mm BWP packing ply because the loads are corrosive-adjacent and the customs route is direct-port-export.
V.O. Chidambaranar Port and the CFS belt
The container freight stations around Harbour Estate and Mullakkadu need pallet stock more than crate stock — mostly 1100 × 1100 mm and 1200 × 1000 mm footprints for GCC and South-East Asia. Top and bottom decks are 12 mm packing ply; stringers are pine or rubberwood scantling.
Marine products and frozen seafood
The marine-products belt around Thereshpuram and Vembar needs light, hygiene-compliant export crates and slip sheets — our 8 mm and 10 mm rubberwood-core packing ply moves here as box bottoms and partition panels.
Copper, metals and renewables
Copper rod, cathode and downstream fabricators in the Madathur and Pandarampatti belts buy thicker 18 mm BWP for battened cathode crates and container flooring. The wind belt routing through the port occasionally needs oversized project crates in 18 mm BWP for blade fittings and inverter cabinets.
What we ship
Packing-grade, BWP, Okoume, shuttering, sawn timber
Three product families do almost all the work in this city.
Packing-grade plywood (commercial and rubberwood-core)
The volume product, 8 × 4 ft. For Tuticorin port-direct export crates, the 12 mm and 18 mm grades carry most of the load. All rates ex-factory; GST and transport extra.
Okoume and shuttering ply
Okoume face veneer over our packing or BWR core for outbound general cargo where the consignee specifies a clean face. IS 710 BWP shuttering ply for Tuticorin's construction belt — port-expansion contractors and the warehouse build-out around Eppodumvendran.
Sawn timber, runners and container flooring
Jackwood runners at ₹400/cft (quarter-inch minus tolerance) and rubberwood runners priced by size, plus 28 mm phenolic-bonded container-flooring panels for project cargo moving through the port. We can build the crate at our Perumbavoor floor and truck it ready, or supply heat-treated pallet kits to drawing.
Logistics
Kochi to Tuticorin — 470 km, an overnight lane
The road run from Perumbavoor to Tuticorin is one of the cleaner south-Indian trucking lanes. The standard route is Perumbavoor – Muvattupuzha – Thodupuzha – Kumily – Theni – Madurai – Tirunelveli – Tuticorin, roughly 470 km on NH-744 and NH-38.
| Leg | Distance | Typical transit |
|---|---|---|
| Perumbavoor to Madurai | ~290 km | 7 hours |
| Madurai to Tuticorin (SIPCOT) | ~175 km | 3 hours |
| Total Kochi to Tuticorin port | ~470 km | 14–16 hours |
A 20-ft full-truck lifts roughly 600 sheets of 12 mm packing ply; a 32-ft single-axle around 1,000. We dispatch from Perumbavoor by evening, cross the Walayar check-post overnight, and material is on the SIPCOT customer's floor by the second morning. For port-direct deliveries to the CFS yards near Harbour Estate, we can shave roughly an hour off peak-monsoon transit via the Karaikudi–Aruppukottai bypass.
Choosing a grade
Which grade for which Tuticorin load
- Salt, chemical and corrosive-adjacent goods — BWP (boiling-water-proof) at 12 mm or 18 mm. The marine-grade glue line is non-negotiable when the crate sits dockside before lift.
- Marine-products export (frozen seafood) — 8 mm or 10 mm packing ply for box bottoms; partition panels at 6 mm.
- Copper cathode, metal fabrications, project cargo — 18 mm BWP with battened crate construction and a 4-way pallet base.
- Outbound general cargo via the port — Okoume-faced packing ply if the consignee specifies, otherwise straight rubberwood-core packing grade.
- Port-expansion and warehouse contractors — IS 710 shuttering ply; film-faced if the contractor wants pour-repetition.
FAQ
Common questions from Tuticorin buyers
Do you supply ISPM-15-stamped export crates ready to load?
Yes. Heat treatment and the ISPM-15 stamp are done at our Perumbavoor facility before dispatch. The buyer gets a phytosanitary-compliant crate landed at SIPCOT or the CFS yard.
What is the minimum order quantity for a Tuticorin run?
For pure plywood sheet supply, one truck (~600–1,000 sheets depending on body size). For built crates and pallets the MOQ is lower because we consolidate with other Tamil Nadu-bound consignments.
Are rates inclusive of GST and freight to Tuticorin?
No. Card rates are ex-factory Perumbavoor. GST and freight to Tuticorin are extra. We share a delivered-to-SIPCOT or delivered-to-Harbour-Estate quote on the proforma invoice once thickness, sheet count and delivery dock are confirmed.
Get a quote
Crating an export out of Tuticorin?
If you are crating salt or chemicals for export, palletising marine products for the reefer line, or sourcing IS 710 BWP for a port-side contractor, send us your thickness mix, monthly volume and the SIPCOT or CFS dock you want it delivered to. We turn around a proforma invoice with the Kochi-to-Tuticorin freight built in. Request a quote, or browse the resource hub for spec sheets on BWP grades, Okoume face veneers and crate construction.