Established in 1956, Jollyboard was the first hardboard and soft-board mill in the country. In 1964 it established the first Indian JV in Canada. Its manufacturing facilities are based across Aurangabad and Sangli. In Sangli, the company has land parcel of over 100 acre, with the Mumbai factory at Kanjurmarg developed into an IT park with some portions reserved for residence. The total area developed was over 2 million sq ft. In 2021, Jollyboard established a new factory to manufacture Fibre Cement Boards. Arvind Jolly, Managing Director, Jollyboard, shares more… How do you view the current market and the market trends for the your products? Our products have a wide application in infrastructure projects, highways, bridges and housing projects since they are used as expansion joints. The Government policy towards infrastructure projects is presently encouraging and we are looking to more sales opportunities. The pandemic impacted us adversely. We had imported machinery for our new fiber cement board plant, which was to be installed and commissioned by Chinese engineers. During COVID, they were not allowed to travel to India due to the restrictions. Our engineers, however, rose to the task and got the machinery installed and commissioned within record time. Jollyboard exports more than 70 per cent of its production. Post-pandemic, the world markets picked up, but unfortunately, sea freight went five-fold and containers were not available. Inland Indian transportation cost also increased sharply. Tell us about your offerings. Our products like soft-board, paper laminated soft-board and Bitumen Impregnated Filler Board have been in the market for last five decades. Recently, we have launched Jolly Fiber Cement Board with ancillary products like planks, ceiling tiles and it has been accepted in the international and domestic market for meeting international standards. The company is able to export because of lean manufacturing practices. Jolly cement boards have reached 70 per cent of installed capacity and we are planning to double capacity next year. We have a unique feature in our cement board process – on-line 7,000 tonne hydraulic press – that allows us to manufacture high density products suitable for exteriors and flooring. The boards have a clearer grain design compared to other products which are manufactured in low pressure rotary press machine. The company got ISO Certified in record time, and at the request of our UK clients, also received FIRE certification to confirm international standards from Thomas Bell Wright International Consultants, Dubai UAE. The company is also looking forward to increase its production capacity of soft-board. How is Jollyboards incorporating technology in its offerings? Any future interventions planned? We have been always adopting new technology to reduce manufacturing cost. It helps us to offer quality products with competitive prices to our customers. We generate more than 30 per cent electricity from solar panels which are installed at our manufacturing units with 1.8 MW capacity, and other interventions are on-going to further reduce manufacturing costs. (Communication by the management of the company)