Plywood and laminate maker Century Plyboards (India) Limited has lined up a capital expenditure of more than Rs 650 crore in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh amid recovering demand.

The capex spend includes a new unit for medium density fibreboard (MDF) in Andhra Pradesh at an investment of Rs 450 crore and the expansion of the Hoshiarpur unit in Punjab for Rs 200 crore. The latter was an ongoing project that was disrupted because of Covid.

Keshav Bhajanka, executive director of CenturyPly, on Thursday said amid recovering demand, the company plans to scale up capacity. The two projects are expected to be complete by 2022.

“On the demand front as of now we are not seeing too much of a slowdown. Most people would be looking to complete their house innovation. Real estate is also getting sold and transactions are taking place,” Bhajanka said while announcing a technology in plywood that will prevent the rapid spread of fire in urban and rural habitats.

He added that the company is geared up to meet business disruptions going forward. “The basic disruption from Covid was in the supply chain. Raw material security was a major issue. We have been able to increase the total quantity of raw material that we are carrying to create a buffer for a longer period of time,” said Bhajanka.

He added that the company has taken price increase across categories to tide over the increasing raw material costs over the past 3-4 months.

On the international business, Bhajanka said that the company has started manufacturing in Gabon in central Africa but disruption in movement of containers has affected dispatch.

Bhajanka was speaking on the occasion of announcement of a technology in plywood that will prevent rapid spread of fire in urban and rural habitats. “We are deeply concerned about rising incidences of fire across our country and decided to focus on what can be done to address this issue. The Firewall solution prepares plywood to fight fire and give crucial time to save lives and valuables,” he said.