Malaysia Plywood Manufacturing, Export and Uses

This article is written to explain how tropical plywood panels are produced, how the move about the world and where they eventually end up. This article is based on the authors knowledge while performing research and working as a sales director for a prominent Malaysia plywood mill.

Timber Logging

The source of all plywood comes from trees, and for tropical plywood harvested in Malaysia, this usually means from one of several species whether it be Meranti, Bintangor, Keruing, Mersawa, Apitong, the list goes on. Most of these variants come from the Shorea species, which grows most abundantly in Malaysia, Indonesia, and in some parts of the Philippines (sometimes referred to as Philippine Mahogany or Lauan). Tropical plywoods are unique in that they are fast growing, very light but yet very hard, and come in a wide variety of colors and cosmetic grades. Their location in South East Asia means they get a lot of rainfall, and are typically accessed by lesser developed countries meaning the cost to produce the end product is significantly cheaper that an equivalent Birch species plywood panel produced in the United States. These trees are cut down using traditional timber techniques and the logs are hauled by a combination of trucks and barges to one of the many plywood production factories in Sabah, or Sarawak, and sometimes in Peninsular Malaysia.

In Sarawak, they might arrive at one of the largest of the Malaysia plywood manufacturers such as the Asia Plywood Company, where they are brought on barges and move through the the-tarik (a famous Malaysian milk tea) colored Tanjung Manis River Basin.

Plywood Manufacturing

Cutting, Peeling and Drying

The logs are stacked in piles outside of the factory and are allowed to soak to soften up the woods and allows for easier cutting and peeling. They are cut into smaller pieces, usually about just over four (4) feet wide (to produce the 4’x8′ standard panel size) and moved via conveyor to large rotary lathes, where they are spun and peeled into thin sheets called veneers. These thin sheets might immediately enter into a large convection dryer after being cut into more manageable sheets. A reading is taken at the end of the drying process to ensure that excess moisture is not an issue.

Composing, Gluing and Bonding

After the drying process the dried pieces are separated based on the level of repair needed. A composer is used to attach separated pieces together before they are sent through glue saturated rollers. There are two major types of glue, waterproof WBP type glues (usually a phenolic or urea-formaldehyde resin) or a standard MR wood glue. The sheets are stacked together in alternating grains forming the individual layers of ply. They are then compressed at high temperature and pressure before coming out in panels.

Sanding, Sorting and Packaging

These panels are moved via conveyor to a sizing and sanding machine where they reach various grading stations and a separated into stacks according to their appropriate quality and color grade, glue type, and panel thickness.

These sheets are then arranged into crates and moved by forklift to the loading bay. The crates are arranged onto trucks which will head directly to the nearest port to for bulk shipping, or loaded into containers at the factory, where the containers will be moved to port to be arranged onto container vessels.

Export Shipping

Vessels will depart the major wood ports in Malaysia such as Bintulu, Miri, Rajang, Sabah and Penang. These vessels will often times stop by the large Chinese ports to pick up additional cargo, before heading towards North America. Containers may be moved onto some of the largest seafaring vessels in the world if they are heading towards North America, or rather limited size Suez Max vessels if they are heading towards the UK. Break bulk type vessels may sail fully laden directly to the destination port. Usually the trips take about 4-6 weeks. Once the plywood panels arrive at their destination, they are unloaded onto trucks and transported to a storage warehouse maintained by the importer. They must first clear customs with the appropriate documentation. Imported woods have about 5x more documentation requirements than say, electronics imported from China. Thus, the manufacturer must be adept in obtaining the right certifications and documents to provide to the importers.

Distribution and End Use

Importers resell the crates directly to distributors and large retail outlets. These sheets are then sold to the public individually or to construction companies. The end up as the core of your dining room table, the sides and bottoms of your drawers, cabinets, the flooring in your homes, the lining of the cargo containers that transported them, cargo vans, RV’s, sofa’s, the list goes on. Malaysian plywood is generally used for structure vs cosmetics. Often times they may be laminated over with cosmetic hardwoods.

– Arthur Iinuma holds a Bachelors in Biology from the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of California, Riverside. He has performed extensive research in Plant Sciences and Environmental Ecology and performs research on the socioeconomic impact of wood production for Asia Plywood Company. Asia Plywood Company is one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of Meranti plywood and other Malaysia plywoodspecies. This material is for informational purposes only and is not a solicitation for a product or service offered by our company.