Celebrating Visionaries in Bamboo Innovation

Sampuran Singh, along with his son Inderpal Singh Bhusri, started the company named Timpack Pvt. Ltd. on 14th June 1976 and carried on the business manufacturing, trading of timber and its timber products such as packing cases, tea chest etc. in 1979, the company set up a sawmill in Byrnihat, Meghalaya and continued its business till 1998, with their sawmill license still valid today. Thereafter, the Ministry of Environment & Forests and Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India approached Timpack to setup a bamboo-based industry at Byrnihat. With 67% of the country’s bamboo are available in the North East, the unit was the first of its kind in India.

In the year 2001, Sampuran Singh setup the New Bamboo Based Industry in India at Byrnihat, Meghalaya, with technology transfer from Indian Plywood Industries Research & Training Institute (IPIRTI), Ministry of Environment & Forests, Bangalore & Buildings Material Technology & Promotion Council (BMTPC), Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, New Delhi and with support from Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC), Meghalaya Government, Planning Commission of India and various other departments. In this connection, Meghalaya Government, for the 1st time in the state, allowed Timpack to purchase 4.5 acres of land where their existing timber factory was situated to setup this new bamboo based industry. The Meghalaya Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) invested Rs. 100.00 Lacs preference shares in the company as the State Government and Central Government are keen to promote and encourage this new bamboo based industry which in turn will result in generating huge employment and providing economic upliftment to the rural people. However, numerous problems were faced in the formative years due to teething problems, initial production & raw materials constraints and product acceptability issues. Any new innovative product particularly, an eco–friendly product, takes it own time to gain acceptability and in particular with government departments, it is a time-consuming process. But Sampuran Singh and his team never gave up and continued their sincere hard work and struggle to make this new bamboo based industry a success.

Today, the formative phase and its associated struggles are over and the company has passed all the tests conducted by various government departments. Their eco-friendly bamboo-based products have generated a good demand after the struggles in marketing and product acceptability. The products are being used by various government departments and organizations like Indian Railways, CPWD and PWD as well as by various other private sector units. Today, at the age of 92 years, Sampuran Singh stands proud as one of the pioneers of bamboo in the country. He is still motivated and in turn motivates his team us to continue their work and dedication in order to make this region and the new bamboo based industry to be recognized on the bamboo map of the world.