ET Make in India SME Regional Summits: Keshav Bhajanka is turning plywood into a ₹12,000 crore dream

In a world obsessed with Silicon Valley success stories, Keshav Bhajanka offers something refreshingly different: a Kolkata tale of grit, innovation, and unwavering loyalty to a city most business leaders have written off. As Executive Director of Century Plyboards India Ltd, Bhajanka has spent nearly four decades proving that West Bengal isn’t just conducive to business, but downright exceptional for it.

Speaking at the ET Make in India SME Regional Summit in Kolkata, Bhajanka didn’t mince words about his home turf. “Contrary to what many people believe, West Bengal, especially Kolkata, is one of the best places to do business,” he declared.

Bhajanka headlined the business success story fireside chat at this edition of the ET SME Summit series, which took place on September 4. IDBI was the banking and lending partner, Canon was the tech enabler, and Audi was the gold partner.

The talent retention secret
Since 1986, Century Ply has operated a labour-intensive factory in the region, employing over 3,000 people. The kicker? It hasn’t shut down for a single day due to labour issues. In an era where industrial disputes can cripple operations overnight, that track record speaks volumes about both the work environment and Bhajanka’s management philosophy.

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“Bengal offers strong talent, good quality of life, and a conducive ecosystem. We’re genuinely happy working here,” he said, before going on to talk about why people have remained loyal to the company for years altogether.

“Many of our people have been with us for decades. I know individuals who joined the company at a salary of ₹2 lakh and today draw over ₹7 crore. If you build people, people will build the institution.”

That people-first philosophy extends beyond compensation to values. Integrity in everything Century Ply does, whether with suppliers, partners, customers, or internally, has held it in good stead over the years, he added.

This contentment has translated into serious business success. Century Ply has set an ambitious target of ₹12,000 crore in turnover by FY2031, backed by strategic investments in talent, capacity expansion, and new business lines.

The university of hard knocks
Despite studying abroad, Bhajanka always knew he’d return to join his father’s business — his “idol,” as he puts it. But the transition from classroom to boardroom delivered a reality check that no MBA programme could have prepared him for.

“I came in thinking I’d take the organisation by storm from day one,” he admitted at the ET SME Summit. “But I quickly realised that while university teaches you how to learn, it doesn’t teach you how to deal with ground realities. You have to relearn everything when you enter the real world, especially in a market like India.”

That humbling experience shaped his leadership philosophy, particularly around embracing failure. The lesson came courtesy of a costly business mistake and an unexpected response from his mentors, including his father and boss, Sanjay Agarwal.

“I walked into the room expecting to be scolded, and they said: ‘Beta, zindagi mein har cheez galat karo, bas imandari se karo.’ (‘Son, make every mistake you want in life, just do it with honesty.’)”

The wisdom stuck. “Don’t be afraid to fail,” Bhajanka advises young leaders. “If you fail eight times but succeed twice, those two wins can outweigh the losses 100 to 1. Overcoming fear of failure is critical.”

Making plywood hot
Ask most people about plywood, and you’ll get glazed looks. Ask Bhajanka, and you’ll discover an industry undergoing a quiet revolution. It used to be boring, but not anymore, he insisted; and the innovations back up his claim.

Century Ply has pushed boundaries since launching India’s first borer-proof and termite-proof plywood in 1997. It added glue-line protection, introduced ViroKill technology, during Covid-19 — plywood that destroys viruses on contact — and developed fire-retardant plywood through its Firewall technology.

“During a home-building journey, plywood is one of the biggest interior investments people make,” Bhajanka noted. “We were shocked by the volume of online searches around plywood. It’s clear people want to learn when they’re spending money.”

The strategy of continuous innovation helped Century Ply navigate the cyclical, cost-sensitive nature of the industry it operates in. Its brand investment, which began in 1996-97, created enough customer loyalty to weather real estate downturns and pass on cost increases without losing market share.

That aside, Century Ply faces a classic David-versus-Goliath scenario: competing against a largely unorganised sector that competes primarily on price. But Bhajanka sees regulatory winds shifting in his company’s favour.

“The government has now imposed a Quality Control Order on our products. The unorganised sector thrived on poor quality materials, but that’s no longer sustainable. I can say with confidence that we manufacture the best plywood in the world today,” he stressed.

While firmly rooted in Kolkata, Century Ply’s vision is decidedly global. It exports laminates to over 75 countries and recently opened its first international warehouse in Eindhoven in The Netherlands. Exports are a big growth area, and Century Ply is scaling it aggressively, Bhajanka revealed at the ET Make in India SME Regional Summit.

The environmental plot twist
Perhaps the most counterintuitive aspect of Bhajanka’s narrative concerns environmental impact. While plywood is often criticised for deforestation, he argues the opposite case with data from the Forest Survey of India.

“Buying more plywood, MDF, or particle board can increase green cover,” he explained. “Natural forests don’t grow. But agroforestry, which is farming trees for commercial use, does. Demand from companies like ours fuels agroforestry. Without us, there’s no reason for farmers to grow these trees.”

His logic seems compelling: demand-driven agroforestry creates economic incentives for tree farming.

The road to ₹12,000 crore
Century Ply’s ambitious 2031 target isn’t just wishful thinking. It’s backed by concrete investments in talent, capacity expansion, and diversification. The company has already added PVC boards as a new category and is exploring additional verticals that could become significant growth drivers.

The strategy reflects Bhajanka’s core belief system: embrace change, invest in people, maintain integrity, and never fear failure. It’s a formula that has worked for nearly four decades in a city many have counted out, but continues to produce globally competitive businesses.

The Calcuttan’s choice
When asked who he’d choose for his own fireside chat, Bhajanka didn’t hesitate: Dr. Sanjiv Goenka. “I’m a Calcuttan through and through,” he explained. “His wisdom and experience across topics is unparalleled. I’ve always admired his journey.”

That local pride, combined with global ambition and an unwavering commitment to quality and innovation, encapsulates the Century Ply story. In Keshav Bhajanka’s hands, even plywood becomes a vehicle for dreams — dreams that could someday be worth ₹12,000 crore.

For young entrepreneurs wondering whether to chase opportunities elsewhere, Bhajanka’s message at the ET Make in India SME Regional Summit – Kolkata was clear: sometimes the best place to build your empire is right where you started. You just need to see the possibilities others miss.

Add as a Reliable and Trusted News SourceThe ET Make in India SME Regional Summits, ET MSME Day, and ET MSME Awards are flagship initiatives to celebrate the versatility and success of India’s MSME sector. If you lead or are part of a micro, small, or medium enterprise, register for the ET MSME Awards 2025 before October 15, 2025.



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