Sri City sits at the top of Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati district, less than 60 km from Chennai's northern outskirts, and it is one of the densest industrial buildouts in southern India. A 7,500-acre multi-product SEZ with more than 200 operating units, four deep-water ports inside a 100 km radius, and tenants ranging from Foxconn handset assembly to Kia and Isuzu vehicle plants — the cluster generates a steady, predictable demand for industrial packaging timber. This post is a working note on what the Cochin Wood group ships into Sri City, how the lane from Kochi runs, and how buyers in the SEZ should think about grade selection for the loads typically moving out of that belt.
The Sri City industrial picture
Sri City was notified as a multi-product SEZ in 2008 and has since grown into one of the largest planned industrial townships in India. The footprint is split across three zones: a notified SEZ for export-oriented units, a Domestic Tariff Area for units selling primarily into India, and a Free Trade Warehousing Zone for distribution and re-export. Around this core sit several supporting industrial parks in the Satyavedu and Tada mandals — including the older APIIC estates and Sri City's own Sector 1 through Sector 7 layouts. The cluster's tenant mix tells you almost everything about its packaging needs.
- Automotive and mobility: Kia Motors India, Isuzu Motors, Hero MotoCorp's electric vehicle arm, and a tier of component suppliers feeding CKD (completely knocked down) export programmes.
- Electronics and EMS: Foxconn, Pegatron, Berger Paints' electronics-grade resins, and a clutch of EMS contractors that ship finished and semi-finished electronics in cushioned, climate-controlled crates.
- Engineering and capital goods: Alstom rolling stock, Cabot India for industrial carbon, Toppan and several precision-equipment exporters.
- FMCG and consumer goods: Colgate-Palmolive, Pepsico, Mondelez, Kellogg's — heavy users of pallets and stretch-wrapped block-stacked timber.
The packaging implication is simple. Sri City is not a market for plywood as a building material — that is a Chennai or Bengaluru conversation. It is a market for export-grade industrial packaging: heat-treated crates that satisfy ISPM-15 phytosanitary rules, four-way entry pallets sized for sea-container stuffing, and container flooring for the open-top and flat-rack movements that engineering exporters need.
What the Cochin Wood group ships into Sri City
The product mix below covers roughly 90% of what we move into Andhra Pradesh's SEZ belt. The Cochin Wood group has been in plywood since 1986; CWI Pvt Ltd is the more recent corporate vehicle through which contract-factory manufacturing is now coordinated.
Packing-grade plywood
This is the workhorse for crate walls, lids and bases. Standard thicknesses we move into Sri City are 6 mm, 8 mm, 12 mm and 18 mm in 8x4 ft sheets, with 9 mm and 15 mm available on order. Construction is MR-grade (moisture-resistant) hardwood core with either commercial face veneer or an Okoume face for higher-spec export programmes. The grade is built for one job — surviving a single export journey intact — and is priced accordingly. Typical sectors that pull this from us are wooden packing-case makers, CKD packers for automotive exporters, and engineering-goods crating shops feeding the Krishnapatnam and Chennai port lanes.
ISPM-15 crates and cases
Where buyers want fully built-up crates rather than sheet stock, we supply ISPM-15 heat-treated assemblies — IPPC stamp, treatment code and country mark already burned into each timber member. Common formats: nailed plywood cases for sub-tonne consignments, framed plywood-clad crates for 1-5 tonne assemblies, and skeletal crates with plywood panels for heavy machinery up to container-weight limits. The Sri City automotive and capital-goods sectors are the steadiest pullers here.
Pallets
Four-way entry pallets sized for sea-container stuffing are the bulk of our pallet despatches into Sri City. The two dominant footprints are 1200 x 800 mm (Euro) and 1100 x 1100 mm (CP / Asian standard). Construction can be solid sawn timber, or plywood-deck on a stringer frame for buyers who need a flatter face for stretch-wrap and shrink-sleeve operations. Block-stacking exporters in the FMCG units of Sector 4 and Sector 5 typically draw from this line.
Container flooring and dunnage
For open-top and flat-rack movements — common for over-dimensional engineering exports going out via Krishnapatnam — we ship 28 mm container-floor grade plywood in 2440 x 1220 mm sheets, plus sawn timber dunnage in lengths cut to spec. Apitong-equivalent specifications are available on request for buyers running ISO-container repair or new-build programmes.
Kochi to Sri City: the logistics lane
The road distance from Kochi to Sri City is approximately 750 km, taking 14-16 hours of running time for a single-truck movement. The lane runs NH-544 from Kochi through Coimbatore, then NH-44 north through Salem, Krishnagiri and Chittoor, before turning east at Tirupati onto the Tirupati-Naidupeta corridor that brings trucks into Sri City's gates at Satyavedu.
Two factors keep the lane economically interesting for buyers in the SEZ. First, there is no port stop or sea freight in the chain — packing material arrives by road within 36-48 hours of despatch, so just-in-time call-offs for production-line packing work cleanly. Second, return-load availability on the Andhra-to-Kerala leg is strong (auto components, FMCG, textiles), which means transporters quote the Kochi-to-Sri City direction sharper than the equivalent lane from north Indian supply bases. For SEZ units handling phytosanitary documentation, ISPM-15 IPPC stamping is completed at the contract factory before despatch; the IPPC certificate and treatment paperwork travels with the truck.
| Lane fact | Sri City |
|---|---|
| Distance from Kochi | ~750 km |
| Road transit | 14-16 hours running; 36-48 hours door-to-door |
| Primary route | NH-544 (Kochi-Coimbatore) → NH-44 (Salem-Krishnagiri-Chittoor) → SH to Satyavedu |
| Nearest ports | Krishnapatnam (~85 km), Kattupalli (~55 km), Chennai (~70 km), Ennore (~65 km) |
| Typical truck size | 20 ft / 32 ft single-axle for FTL movements; container stuffing at factory for CFS-bound |
Decision rules: which grade for which Sri City load
The grade decision should track three variables — the value of the cargo, whether it is leaving India, and how it will be handled in transit. A simple working framework:
- Domestic packing-case work, single trip: commercial-face MR-grade packing plywood in 6-12 mm. This is the volume grade for tier-2 component suppliers and DTA-zone units moving stock to mother plants within India.
- Export crates, sea freight, single voyage: Okoume-face packing plywood in 9-12 mm with ISPM-15 timber framing. The Okoume face gives a cleaner appearance and a slightly higher bend strength for crates that may be opened and re-closed at customs.
- Heavy-load crates, machinery, multi-handling: 18 mm packing plywood on a sawn-timber framed crate, with ISPM-15 stamps. Container flooring grade is used for the base.
- Shuttering plywood: rarely the right answer for Sri City packaging. Shuttering is the right call for civil works inside the SEZ during build-out phases — formwork for concrete pours — not for export crates.
Frequently asked questions
Do you supply ISPM-15 compliant crates direct to SEZ units?
Yes. The contract factories under CWI specifications are IPPC-registered for heat treatment, and the stamp, treatment code and certificate travel with the consignment. Buyers do not need to arrange a separate treatment vendor in Sri City.
What is the minimum order size for a Kochi-to-Sri City movement?
A single 32-ft truck (around 8-9 tonnes of packing plywood, or roughly 800-900 sheets at 12 mm) is the economical floor. Smaller orders can be consolidated with other Andhra-bound consignments on a part-load basis with a longer transit window.
Can you match an existing crate drawing or spec sheet?
Yes. Submit the drawing or specification with the enquiry and the contract factory will quote the build to drawing. For repeat programmes we hold a working spec on file so call-offs go straight to production.
Request a quote
Sri City buyers — packing-case makers, automotive exporters, EMS units, FMCG warehouses — can request a quote with a one-line brief on grade, thickness, sheet size or crate spec, and monthly volume. We will come back with an EX-Kochi rate, a delivered Sri City rate including transport and GST, and an indicative dispatch window. For specification notes on packing plywood thickness selection, ISPM-15 documentation and pallet construction, the resource hub carries the working guides our buyers reference most often.