Greenply Industries Ltd., a major company in the organised plywood industry, has made an initial investment of €11 million (around ₹941 million) in a manufacturing unit in Gabon in West Africa.
The facility comprises a 96,000 cubic metre capacity for making Okoume Timber face veneers on 10 hectares in a special economic zone, using the natural hardwood Okoume timber, which will be harvested through a sustainable forest management plan. Another dose of €4 million (around ₹342 crore) investment would be made by March 2019 with full capacity utilisation being achieved by 2020-21, the company said in a statement.
GIL managing director Rajesh Mittal said that it was among the first few industries to set up a manufacturing unit in Gabon where the company has found a sustainable and economic solution to using gurjan trees (now being done in India). GIL is engaged in manufacturing and marketing of plywood, block boards, decorative veneers and flush doors with seven units, of which one is in Myanmar and now another in Gabon, the company said.