1. The Western India Plywoods Limited Vol.2 Issue 4 July-August, 2018
1 VISION 2020 3 SOFTBOARD 4 GARDEN FURNITURE 5 BONSAI 7 AMAZON RAINFOREST
It seemed as if heavens had opened up. Kerala
received unprecedented rains. What followed
was something which no one in Kerala was
prepared for. Hundreds of people lost their
lives and over a million people were displaced
and forced to live in relief camps. The state
experienced the worst floods since 1924.
Landslides, flooded houses, people wading in
neck deep water to save their lives. As I
watched the news on TV and read the
newspaper, the one thought that came to my
mind was - aren't we responsible for this
situation? In the name of development, we
have cut down trees, almost wiped out forests,
laid bare the hills which caused the massive
landslides. We have so systematically abused
Nature that we are now reaping the results of
our actions.
The situation, however, brought out the fact
that we as a state are united - caste, colour,
creed, religion, did not matter. Whether it was
the government, the fishermen, the rescue
teams, all came together to fight the odds -
they all worked tirelessly with one goal - to
save as many lives as possible. The situation
was handled quite effectively.
It was a proud moment for me personally - to
be a Malayali!
Each one of us needs to resolve to be sensitive
to Nature. It is a wake-up call to all the powers
that be - to have the welfare of people and
nature at heart when building dams and
infrastructure in the name of development, so
that we leave a beautiful world which we
enjoyed, for our future generations. We owe it
to them!
WIP's vision on the path to
2020 is to get the highest
possible value from all the
available fibrous raw material
resources - virgin wood and
recycled fibres
Traditionally, the wood-based
industries, especially the paper
and fibreboard mills use virgin
wood fibres as raw materials.
Fresh fibres, or wood are
sourced from natural forests
and tree plantations. Fresh
material is broken down into
wood chips and converted to
pulp by mechanical or chemical
processes. Fibre can also be
recovered as a by-product in
industrial processes or after
consumer use. By-products,
known as post-industrial, pre-
consumer materials, include
sawmill residue, residue from
the making of wood pulp, and
trees that are too small or
crooked to be cut into lumber.
Post-consumer materials are
collected from end consumers
after wood-based products are
discarded.
FROM
THE DESK OF THE
MANAGING
DIRECTOR
VISION 2020: USE OF RECYCLED FIBRES BY
WOOD-BASED INDUSTRIES
The use of recycled fibres was
originated from the desire to
overcome the declining availability
in wood supply and from the
search for strategies to bring
down the cost of raw materials.
As a result of this, the industry
concentrated its attention on
unconventional fibre supplies,
with particular attention to
free waste inputs from various
sources including waste paper,
solid wastes and sludges from
cellulose-based and lignocellulose
- based industries, posing threat
to the environment.
Use of recycled fibres reduces the
need for fresh content and the
process is resource and energy
intensive. The decision about
whether to use recovered fibres
and what percentage to use
should be made after analyzing
the kind of fibres needed for the
end product, the availability of
fresh and recycled fibres, and the
environmental implications of
both types of fibre for a specific
product supply chain.
Representatives of the Management and Workers' Association of The Western India Plywoods Ltd handing over a cheque to
KannurDistrictCollector,Mr.MeerMohammedasdonationtowardstheChiefMinister'sFloodRelieffund.
FLASHBACK
My best wishes to the Western
India Plywood. Thanks to
Mr. Bava and Mehboob for
detailed briefing and conduct
and not forgetting the High Tea.
A.S. Jamwal
Maj.Gen – GOC ATN,
KK & Goa Area
11 Feb. 2002
A very interesting visit to the
Western india Plywoods. It was
great to see the making of quality
plywood for varied needs as per
requirement. Impressed by the
R&D department and wish the
department great success and
lead in Quality Assurance and
futuristic development.
August was a month of reckoning for Kerala.
NATURE'S FURY
WHO IS
RESPONSIBLE
- P K Mayan Mohamed
The newly commissioned Hydropulper to assist usage of recycled fibres
8
2. USE OF RECYCLED FIBRES …................................ cont'd from page 1
(8) Forest (or group) is a style
comprising the planting of several or
many trees of one species, typically an
oddnumber,inabonsaipot.
(9) Multi-trunk styles have all the
trunks growing out of one spot with
one root system, so the bonsai is
actuallyasingletree.
(10) Raft is a style of bonsai that mimic
a natural phenomenon that occurs
when a tree topples onto its side from
erosion or another natural force.
Branches along the top side of the
trunk continue to grow as a group of
newtrunks.
The Amazon rainforest stretches over a large portion of South America. It is
the largest and most bio-diverse rainforest in the world. It is breathtakingly
beautifulandmysterious.Herearesomefactsthatyouprobablydon'tknow.
Size
The Amazon rainforest can be found in 9 South American countries; Brazil,
Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and the three Guyanas, with the
majority (60%) of its magnificent sprawl lying within the expansive borders of
Brazil. For some more perspective, the United Kingdom and Ireland could fit
intoit17timesover.
ItdependsonAfricatosurvive
The Amazon requires a continuous supply of fresh dust and phosphorous in
its top soil to continue to thrive. Amazingly, the main supplier to the Amazon
Rainforest is on another continent entirely: it's the Sahara desert in Africa. A
recent study using satellite imagery and advanced dust cloud modelling
techniques found that particles get picked up in the Sahara desert and blown
overtheAtlanticbeforesettlingintheAmazon.
Theriverusedtorunbackwards
A 2006 geological study discovered that the oldest river sediments were
actually found upstream of their source. After much hypothesizing, scientists
cameto theconclusion that the Amazon used to run east to west but changed
direction once the Andes rose through the continent some 100 million years
ago.
Probablythelongestriver
The Amazon river actually begins in the Peruvian Andes and extends for 4,225
miles (6,800 kilometers), some 65 miles (105 km) longer than the Nile. Either
way, there is no doubt it's the biggest river by volume, pumping out a
staggering55milliongallonsofwaterintotheAtlanticpersecond.
Population
Some 21 million people call the Amazon home, including an estimated 50
remotetribeswhohavenotyetmadecontactwithmoderncivilization.
It'sfastdisappearing
Adepressing1.5acresoftheAmazonvanishesevery singlesecondandwithit
anaverageof137speciesbecomeextincteachday.
3. Paper Mill Sludge (PMS): As part of
a major project using Paper Mill Sludge
(PMS), a by-product of the pulp and
paper industry, WIP has developed a
new method of recovering fibres from
the woody component of the sludge
and established its suitability as one of
the raw materials along with the
conventional hardwood pulp for the
production of Fibreboards.
Other options proposed for fully
exploring all the available waste fibre
resources in the region for use in WIP's
fibreboard factories, which are
either under various stages of
implementation at present or under
serious consideration for the near
future include:
1) Trimming wastes from WIP's
Hardboard and Softboard factories
2) Sawdust and other wood wastes
from nearby wood-based industries
3) Textile mill wastes/disposal wastes
from nearby textile mills and outlets
4) Agro-wastes like banana stem,
coffee husk, corn cobs, EFBs of
Oil palm /Date palms
5) Waste papers - e.g. unused lottery
tickets from State Govt. department
or Collection of tickets discarded
daily by customers through NGOs or
a network of lottery agents/rag
pickers.
For most products, there is a maximum
amount of recycled fibre that can be
used without compromising product
quality. The optimal amount of recycled
fibre is determined by product
specifications, consumer preference,
availability and cost of recovered fibres
of the quality needed, and government
or industry standards. Decisions about
the optimal recycled fibre content
should take into account the views and
interests of consumers, company
management, local and national
ergy in pulping than wood-based
pulp, sogovernment and regulatory
authorities, and recovered fibre
suppliers.
As part of this trend across the various
pulp and paper industries in India, WIP
has also recently embarked upon several
innovative models using recycled fibres
from the following waste resources:
1. Waste paper: WIP has developed a
low-energy, mechanical re-pulping
method that cost-effectively recovers
quality fibre from waste papers
including old newspapers, magazines,
note books, etc. that gently separates
fibres. The papers can use considerably
less energy in pulping than wood-based
pulp, so making secondary fibres
competitive with virgin ones can save
significant energy.
2. Shredded currency notes: The use of
recycled fibres from currency notes is a
tempting proposition for wood fibre-
based fibreboard industry as these
papers are produced from good quality
natural fibres. The cellulosic raw
materials such as cotton and hemp
employed in making currency
papers have good strength
properties because of the
morphological nature and the
good length of the fibres.
In WIP, the shredded notes
c o u l d b e s u c c e s s f u l l y
converted into pulp to make
extra-strong fibreboards
because the money fibres were
so resilient and adhered well
to the virgin hardwood fibres.
Interesting Facts About The Amazon Rainforest
That You May Not Know
Group style bonsai
Multi trunk style bonsai
Courtesy: Wikipedia
The Western India Plywoods Ltd.
Founder Managing Director
A. K. Kaderkutty
Former Managing Director
P. K. Mohamed
Managing Director
P. K. Mayan Mohamed
(In-house magazine of
The Western India Plywoods Ltd.,
Baliapatam)
Vol.2, No.4,
July - August 2018
Printer and Publisher
P. K. Mayan Mohamed
Editorial Consultants
Cornucopia - Bangalore
(080-41235431 / 32)
Your response and suggestions on
Woodtalk may please be sent to
The Editor, Woodtalk
The Western India Plywoods Ltd.
Mill Road, Baliapatam,
Kannur - 670010, Kerala, India
Ph: 91-497-2778151-54
Fax: 91-497-2778181
Email:westernply@gmail.com
Website: www.wipltd.in
(For private circulation only)
Printed and published By
P. K. Mayan Mohamed
on behalf of
The Western India Plywoods Ltd.
Printed at: A. R. Enterprises,
R.T. Nagar Post, Kanakanagar
Bangalore 560032.
Ph: 9845125828
For commercial enquiries about the
product and services mentioned in
these columns, please contact:
P. K. Mehaboob
Head - Marketing
Mob: 9847024720
72
3. Bonsai Styles
The Japanese bonsai styles are
described in different ways.
A single bonsai specimen can exhibit
more than one style characteristic.
When a bonsai specimen falls
into multiple style categories, the
common practice is to describe it
by the dominant or most striking
characteristic.
A frequently used set of styles
describes the orientation of the bonsai
tree's main trunk.
(1) Formal upright is a style of trees
characterized by a straight, upright,
tapering trunk. Branches progress
regularly from the thickest and
broadest at the bottom to the finest
and shortest at the top.
(2) Informal upright is a style of trees
incorporating visible curves in trunk
and branches, but the apex of the
informal upright is located directly
above the trunk's entry into the soil
line.
36
SOFTBOARD AS A SUBSTRATE FOR
HYDROPONICS
have established the possibility of using
this eco-compatible substrate -
Softboard, a commercial product of the
company, for substituting two well-
known substrates, coirpith and
sawdust.
The findings of this research work have
already been published as a research
article entitled 'Softboard as a Novel
Wood Fibre-Based Substrate for
Hydroponic Systems-A Preliminary
Study' in the August, 2018 issue of the
International Journal of Research and
Scientific Innovation (IJRSI), a peer
reviewed scientific periodical from
Research and Scientific Innovation
Society.
The thrust of this investigation was to
make use of the potentials that
abound in natural biodegradable
materials and products as plant
growth media. Results of the study
also revealed that the softboard has
several qualities and advantages for
placing it as a promising substrate
among the long list of known
substrates for hydroponics and that it
hasgotthefollowingcharacteristics:
1. Itisbiodegradable
2. Itisavailableinthemarket
3. Free from pathogens and
unwantedseeds
4. Organic material harvested
sustainably from a renewable
resourceorlocalresource
5. Heavy enough to aid in
anchoringtheplants
6. Light enough to facilitate
shippingandhandling
Soilless cultivation or hydroponics is a
popular and fast growing sector
of agriculture and it has many
advantages over standard agricultural
practices: a) weed and soil diseases
are not a problem in soil-less culture
b) high quality yield c) cultivating
crops in any region even in regions
where poor soil conditions prevail
d) controlling the root environments
and prevention of compaction and
increasing water and nutrient use
efficiency.
Soilless culture imitates soil-base
gardening by using many kinds of
growing media as for example
inorganic substance, organic
substance and synthetic substrates. In
the aggregate system of hydroponics,
different substrates are currently
being used as support to the root
system of plants under soilless
cultivation. There are four functions
that substrate must serve in order to
support good plant growth: It must
serve as a reservoir for plant
nutrients, it must hold water in a way
that makes it available to the plant, it
must provide plants with gases and
water at the same time and it must
support the plant. Some of the
desirable properties of these growing
media identified through research
include organic matter, bulk density,
porosity, aeration and pH.
Softboard or Fibre Insulation Board
is a multipurpose Low Density
Fibreboard manufactured from wood
fibres, having a variety of uses. It is
produced by reducing the hardwood
to fibres which are then felted to form
a continuous sheet. Softboard is
hygroscopic in nature and because of
the porous nature, it readily absorbs
water. Recently, studies undertaken
i n t h e R & D l a b o rato r i e s o f
The Western India Plywoods Ltd
(3) Slant is a style of bonsai
possessing straight trunks like those
of bonsai grown in the formal
upright style. However, the slant
style trunk emerges from the soil at
an angle, and the apex of the bonsai
will be located to the left or right of
therootbase.
(4) Cascade is a style of specimens
modeled after trees that grow over
water or down the sides of
mountains. The tip of the tree in the
semi-cascade style bonsai extend
just at or beneath the lip of the
bonsai pot; the apex of a full
cascade-style falls below the base of
thepot.
A number of styles describe the
trunk shape and bark finish. For
example, the deadwood bonsai
styles identify trees with prominent
deadbranchesortrunkscarring.
(5) Shari is a style involving the
portrayal of a tree in its struggle to
live while a significant part of its
trunkisbareofbark.
Although most bonsai trees are planted
directly into the soil, there are styles
describingtreesplantedonrock.
(6) Root-over-rock is a style in which
the roots of the tree are wrapped
around a rock, entering the soil at the
baseoftherock.
(7) Growing-in-a-rock is a style in which
the roots of the tree are growing in soil
contained within the cracks and holes of
therock.
There are well-established style
categories for specimens with multiple
trunks.
Figure shows Seedlings of Green gram
(Phaseolus aureus) and Fenugreek
(Trigonella foenum-graecum) on
Softboard (Note: Pegboards of 3mm
thickness were used on top of the
softboard to provide proper spacing
and to avoid making pits for placing the
seeds)
Dr. E. Sreenivasan
Technical Manager – R&D
Division
Maple bonsai – formal upright
Slant style bonsai
Cascade style bonsai
Shari style bonsai
Root over rock style bonsai
I had a sparrow as a pet but it flew
way one day. Then I had a squirrel
but it ran away too. Then, I planted
atreeandtheybothcameback.
Dr.A.P.J.AbdulKalam
4. 3) Wiring branches and trunks allows
the bonsai designer to create the
desired general form and make
detailedbranchandleafplacements.
4) Clamping - where mechanical
devices are used for shaping trunks
andbranches.
5) Grafting new growing material -
which is usually a bud, branch or root
into a prepared area on the trunk or
underthebarkofthetree.
6) Defoliation - which can provide
short-term dwarfing of foliage for
certaindeciduousspecies.
7) Deadwood bonsai techniques such
as jin and shari simulate age and
maturityinabonsai.
ContainersandPots
The pots may be of any material, size,
and shape that suit the grower. A
training box will have a single
specimen, and a smaller volume of soil
that helps condition the bonsai to the
eventual size and shape of the formal
bonsaicontainer.
The formal bonsai containers which
house the completed trees are usually
made of ceramic and can be glazed or
unglazed. The bonsai pots have
drainage holes in the bottom surface
and allow excess water to drain off
fromthepot.
Pots usually have vertical sides, so that
the tree's root mass can easily be
removed for inspection, pruning, and
replanting.
Many aesthetic guidelines affect the
selectionofpotfinishandcolor.
The overall design of the bonsai tree,
the thickness of its trunk, and its height
are considered when determining the
sizeofasuitablepot.
The bonsai trees grown in small
containersrequirealotofcare.
(1) Watering must be regular and
depends on the bonsai species'
requirement for dry, moist or wet
soil.
(2) It should be repotted at intervals
dictated by the strength and age of
eachtree.
(3) Soil composition and fertilization
must be customised to the needs
of each bonsai tree, although
bonsaisoilisalmostalwaysaloose,
fast-drainingmixofcomponents.
(4) Location and overwintering are
species-dependent when the
bonsaiiskeptoutdoorsasdifferent
species require different light
conditions. Few of the traditional
bonsai species can survive inside a
typical house, due to the usually
dryindoorclimate.
BONSAI – BOTANICAL SCULPTURES
PRODUCT OF THE MONTH
Garden furniture is specifically
designed for outdoor uses. It is
typically made of weather-resistant
materials such as aluminium and
other materials which weather well
and are resistant to UV radiation. The
most commonly sold types of garden
furniture sets are made of plastic,
wood, aluminium, wicker, and
wrought iron. Recently, WIP has
added new furniture made of its
Densified wood product to the
existing list of garden furniture
items. WIP's Densified Wood is a
unique and versatile engineering
material made from thin veneers
vacuum-impregnated with synthetic
resin adhesives and pressed at
high temperature and pressure.
The material has extra-ordinary
dimensional stability combined with
superb physical and mechanical
properties. Hence the furniture is
incredibly durable and can withstand
partial exposure to the elements of
wind, rain and sun. However, a
protective coat of varnish, lacquer,
etc at a yearly interval is a necessity.
The ancient art of Bonsai is a deep
rooted tradition in China and Japan.
The art originated some 1000 years
agoinChina.
Bonsai stunts the growth of trees into
miniaturesizes.
Bonsai specimens are ordinary trees
and shrubs (not hereditary dwarfs)
that are dwarfed by a system of
pruning roots and branches and
training branches by tying with wire.
Each tree is cut, manipulated and
shapedtoapreciseshape.
Seeds are very rarely used as the
source for bonsai. Sources of bonsai
material include propagation from a
source tree through cuttings or
layering.
Techniques
Bonsai development incorporates
manytechniques.Someofthemare:
1) Trimming leaves which is the
selective removal of leaves (in case of
deciduous trees) or needles (in case of
conifers) from the trunk and branches
ofthesourcetree.
2) Pruning the trunk, branches and
rootsofthebonsai.
GARDEN FURNITURE FROM DENSIFIED WOOD
WIP OPENS ITS NEW DEPOT IN ERNAKULAM
WIP has opened a new Regional
Office cum Sales Outlet at
44/1273, L.F.C Road, Kaloor,
Ernakulam 682017.
All the basic company products
like Marine Plywood, Chequered
flooring board, Shuttering
Plywood, Decorative Plywood,
etc are available at the new
sales outlet. Contact staff are
Mr. Thomas
(Cell No.9846034646) and
Mr. Shiju
(Cell No.9947412712).
54
For further details like pricing
and delivery, please mail us
at: westernply@gmail.com