Particleboard is a classic panel, made from the particles of wood / agro materials. It is a low-density board, with densities ranging from 550 kgs to 750 kgs per cubic meter.

Particleboard plants are specially designed to produce an effective alternative for wood & plywood. Besides contributing to timber conservation, the system is designed to minimize the energy costs.

Today, Particleboard is well established and fully proven with a track record that includes highly successful installations throughout the world.

While wood logs are used to make MDF, whole tree is used to make Particleboard.

Industries that use Particleboard include construction and packaging.  High-quality Particleboard has the strength, durability & screw-holding capacity of near MDF, which makes it suitable for widespread use in the furniture industry such as bedroom units, fitted kitchens, shelves & tables.  It is also used in household electrical appliances, cabinets & floor under layment.

Raw materials for Particleboard  includes small diameter wood logs, wood branches, saw dust, wood processing wastes, veneer wastes, furniture wastes, wood pieces and also sugar cane bagasse.

Main Production Line for Particleboard

Particleboard from bagasse –

Bagasse is valuable cellulose, which deserves better value-addition than simple burning. Bagasse contains 30% pith, which is not suitable for making Particleboard. The pith is separated and the de-pithed bagasse is used for Particleboard. In terms of quality and appearance, bagasse Particleboard is equal to wood Particleboard.

There are about 1,000 Particleboard production lines in the world, with a built-up capacity of around 100 million cubic metres. Indian Particleboard capacity is insignificant, with 20-25 plants producing 1.5 million cubic metres per year.

India is using 60 million cubic metres of sawn wood for housing, furniture, agri-implements, packaging etc., and there are 23,000 saw mills in the country. It is estimated that each saw mill generates 100-200 tons of saw dust and wood cuttings per year, thus making available 2.5 – 5 million tons of waste wood, which can provide necessary raw material to more than 20 new Particleboard  plants in India.

Since the Supreme Court of India has banned further licensing of plywood factories, plywood industry cannot meet the future demand for panel products. The present demand for plywood is 250 million sq.metres or about 4 million cubic metres per year. Plywood needs large sized wood in excess of 20 cm dia, whereas Particleboard can use wood wastes.

The Particleboard line comprises of material preparation section, drying, screening, resin blending, mat forming, hot pressing, edge trimming and sanding sections. The plants can use either single opening presses or multi-opening presses of old types or continuous presses of new type. The plant capacities are from 30,000 cubic metres per year to 3,60,000 cubic metres per year.

A standard Particleboard  plant needs many other auxiliary plants such as UF resin plant, short cycle lamination plant, horizontal impregnation line and also energy plant (to supply steam / hot air and hot oil to the main plant). Hence, the total investments range from Rs. 25 crores to Rs. 350 crores and the pay-back periods are from 3 to 5 years.

At the present time of deforestation, with timber reserves under pressure from the growing worldwide demand for panel products, the Particleboard project offers low-risk entry into a potentially lucrative market.

GoodRich is the Indian representative for the following European companies, who supply complete equipments for Particleboard projects –

1)  IMAL-PAL-Globus, Italy, for complete Particleboard lines – www.imalpal.com

90% of the world’s Particleboard plants have one or other machines from IMAL-PAL-Globus.  Together, they have supplied more than 14,000 machines till now.

IMAL-PAL-Globus have built the 8 ft. wide complete Particleboard plant in Vietnam during 2014, which is running successfully with a world record for lowest glue consumption. Some of their new technologies include–

1. Hi Jet resination system
2. Dynasteam steam injection system
3. CPD continuous density profile
4. FBC full blister control
5. Thickness gauge
6. Screencam / fibercam
7. Complete set of new laboratory equipments

2) Steinemann Technology AG, Switzerland, for sanding lines – www.steinemann.com

Steinemann sanders are known to be the world’s best, with 80% market share globally. All the Indian customers who installed the European Particleboard / MDF lines have also installed / placed orders on Steinemann sanders.

3) Anthon, Germany for panel cut-to-size lines –   www.anthon.de

Anthon is the top quality manufacturer of panel cut-to-size lines.  Anthon saw lines are in perfect combination with Steinemann.  Together, they supplied equipments for the world’s largest & fastest lines.

4)  Argos Solutions AS, Norway, for panel grading systems –www.argossolutions.no

Argos panel grading system is the world’s top-quality sensor based grading system, which saves the labour cost of 80 – 120 people per day for manual grading of boards.

5)     ForbesVyncke, India for Energy plants – www.forbesvyncke.com

ForbesVyncke is a joint venture between the Indian Company Forbes Marshal and the Belgium Company Vyncke, which is the world leader in Energy plants for Particleboard & MDF lines.

GoodRich has participated in almost all the large scale Particleboard projects that came up in India during the last 10 years, & can arrange to supply complete plants or individual equipments for Particleboard lines.