Africa, service and expertise: a steadfast, century-old vision
Optorg started out in international business nearly a century ago. Initially spread across a wide range of different markets, the Group later decided to hone its focus by becoming an expert in specialized distribution in Africa. Optorg has now represented major vehicle and technical equipment manufacturers for several decades, providing service with high value-added. During this time, the Group has supported the growth of both Caterpillar and Mercedes-Benz in Africa and taken part in some of the continent’s milestone projects, such as the Trans-Gabon Railway, which has played a major role in the region’s social and economic development.
A hundred years on, our cornerstones remain the same: Africa, service and expertise. We continue to build on this founding project, backed by our experience and the support of our shareholder, Al Mada, Morocco’s top investment fund, which has targeted Africa as a strategic priority. We aim to continue working with a collaborative mindset, bringing together and training leading experts to spur on our partner manufacturers’ and customers’ development in Africa.
We are about to enter a new era. Africa has become the new frontier of economic development and our businesses, which have deep roots nearly a century old, are set to achieve promising growth for our customers, our partners and the people who benefit from the end service provided by the Group:
Optorg cares just as much about the means used to achieve its goals as the goals themselves. The Group has established an ethics charter that reflects this strong belief, which sets forth the principles that all employees must follow in their daily work – including respect for others, compliance with trade rules and regulations, and respect for company property – as well as an initiative designed to ensure that these rules are known, understood and followed.
Optorg operates in countries that can face difficult conditions, requiring close coordination between compliance officers and operational staff on an ongoing basis. We developed our organization and compliance program to provide support to our teams in their daily work and ensure they reach their targets the right way.
Optorg has a three-tiered compliance organization:
Our compliance program is founded upon systematic risk analysis across the entire company and all its subsidiaries. Following this analysis, we define the measures that need to be implemented to ensure compliance with the law and minimize risks. Another key component of our compliance program is guaranteeing the integrity of our partners and associates. We believe that acting with integrity and complying with regulations is absolutely vital to establishing trust-based relationships over the long term.
Our employees may encounter complex situations that require outside advice. To ensure they receive the support they need, we foster a trust-based environment with open lines of communication enabling everyone to share their perspective and concerns. Employees are free to speak with their line managers, compliance liaisons or the Group Compliance Manager. Ethics is an issue that concerns everyone at the company, which is why our employees and outside stakeholders alike can call our hotline to report situations involving an ethics risk.
Optorg’s history began in 1919, when the business was founded by a group of entrepreneurs in the textile industry seeking to develop trade with Russia. The Russian Revolution forced the company to shift its focus to Asia, where it developed a trading business specialized in textiles, equipment goods, agrifood and more. The Indochina War would later impel the company to refocus again, this time on Africa, which has been Optorg’s central marketplace ever since.
Start of trade in Russia
A group of French entrepreneurs in the textile industry seeking to expand into Russia founds Compagnie Optorg. The company’s name is derived from the Russian term for “wholesale business”: “Optovaia torgovlia”.
Growth in Asia
The Group expands its textile, equipment goods, agrifood and other businesses in Asia, primarily in China, Indochina and Malaysia. In the 1940s, Optorg ranks among the top five trading companies in Indochina.
Arrival in Central Africa
Optorg takes its first steps in Africa: the group acquires a controlling interest in Société du Haut-Ogooué (SHO), a dealer of construction equipment, forestry equipment, automobiles and hardware in Central Africa.
Arrival in West Africa
Optorg continues its development in Africa: the group acquires a controlling interest in Établissements Ch. Peyrissac, an automotive and motorcycle distributor, and industrial equipment and hardware importer in West Africa.
Specialization in Africa
Optorg consolidates its positions in Africa by establishing locally incorporated companies. The Group winds down its business in Asia, where major geopolitical conflicts are unfolding.
Optorg decided to move on from its early days as a general trader and specialize in two core businesses. Its first area of expertise is equipment, a business that the Group developed through the acquisition of Tractafric, a company that had represented Caterpillar in Africa since 1932. The partnership with CAT gradually expanded and now covers 10 countries in Central Africa and Morocco. Meanwhile, the Group formed partnerships with specialist manufacturers in order to strengthen its portfolio in a targeted way.
Partnership formed with Caterpillar
Caterpillar contracts Traction Africaine de Débardage (now Tractafric) to represent the brand in the French colonies of Equatorial Africa (now the Congo, Gabon, Chad and Central African Republic) and Cameroon. Tractafric is acquired in 1937 by Société du Haut-Ogooué (SHO), which, in turn, is acquired by Optorg in 1947.
Expansion of partnership with Caterpillar
Caterpillar selects Tractafric as its representative in Morocco.
Partnership with Manitou
Manitou, the world leader in all-terrain forklifts, selects Tractafric as its representative in Central Africa.
Partnership with Perkins
Perkins, a specialist in industrial Diesel motors, selects Tractafric as its representative in Central Africa and Morocco.
Expansion of partnership with Caterpillar
Caterpillar selects Tractafric as its representative in Rwanda, DRC and Burundi.
Partnership with Hyster
Hyster, a specialist in handling equipment, selects Tractafric as its representative in Central Africa and Morocco.
Partnership with Sullair
Sullair, a specialist in compressed-air systems, selects Tractafric as its representative in Central Africa and Morocco.
Partnership with Terex Powerscreen
Terex Powerscreen, a specialist in mobile crushing and screening equipment, selects Tractafric as its representative in Central Africa and Morocco.
Optorg’s second pillar is automobile distribution, a longstanding business that has steadily grown since 1992, when Tractafric became the exclusive official dealer of Mercedes-Benz industrial vehicles in several African countries. The partnership with Mercedes-Benz VI has developed over the years and now covers 23 countries – nearly half of the African continent. The Group has also formed distribution agreements with various other passenger and industrial vehicle manufacturers, to support their development in Africa.
Partnership formed with Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz selects Tractafric to distribute industrial vehicles in the Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Chad and Central African Republic.
Expansion of partnership with Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz selects Tractafric to distribute industrial vehicles in the DRC.
Expansion of partnership with Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz selects Tractafric to distribute passenger vehicles in Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, the DRC, Chad and West Africa.
Partnership with Renault
Renault selects Tractafric to distribute industrial vehicles in Cameroon and the DRC.
Expansion of partnership with Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz selects Tractafric to distribute industrial vehicles in West Africa (excluding Côte d’Ivoire): Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
Partnership with Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi selects Tractafric to distribute passenger vehicles in Cameroon, Chad, Congo and the DRC.
Partnership with Ford
Ford selects Tractafric to distribute passenger vehicles in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and the DRC, and industrial vehicles in Côte d’Ivoire.
Partnership with Fuso
Fuso selects Tractafric to distribute its vehicles in 10 countries: Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Congo, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea.
Development of automobile trading business
Tractafric Motors develops its automobile trading business under the Autoredo trade name. The subsidiary, which serves as a complement to the Group’s local distribution operations, specializes in international direct sales of new vehicles, parts and accessories from a range of brands.
Partnership with MCV
MCV selects Tractafric to distribute its buses in Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the DRC and Gabon, as well as in West Africa.
Partnership with Hyundai
Hyundai selects Tractafric to distribute its passenger and industrial vehicles in Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Chad, Niger and CAR.
Partnership with Nissan
Nissan selects Tractafric to distribute its passenger vehicles in the DRC, Gabon and Chad, and its industrial vehicles in the DRC and Gabon.
Partnership with Isuzu
Isuzu selects Tractafric to distribute its trucks (2014) and pick-ups (2015) in Morocco.
Expansion of partnership with Fuso
Fuso selects Tractafric to distribute its vehicles in seven new countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Niger, Rwanda, Togo and Sierra Leone.
Expansion of partnership with Mercedes-Benz and MCV
Tractafric becomes an official importer and distributor of Mercedes-Benz industrial vehicles and passenger vehicles and MCV buses in Côte d’Ivoire.
The strategic management of the group is performed by a Board of Directors. An Executive Committee also provides support for Optorg’s operational management.
A graduate of École Centrale de Nantes who also earned an MBA from École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Tarafa Marouane began his career in 1989 with the Autohall group. He then moved on to Cosumar, followed by ONA. He went on to hold a top management positions at Sopriam and then Sonasid, before becoming CEO of Somed. He has served as Chairman of the LafargeHolcim Morocco Board of Directors and CEO of Sopriam since 2017. He was named Chairman of the Optorg Board of Directors in January 2019. Tarafa Marouane also serves as Vice President of CGEM (Confédération Générale des entreprises du Maroc).
Holding a Master’s degree in Finance from HEC Montréal, Laila Ait Elmkadem began her career in the Managem mining group, where she held various positions, most recently Corporate Finance Director. In 2009, she joined Optorg as Chief Financial Officer of the holding company and the French entities. In 2011, in the redeployment of the Group’s automotive activities, the Finance and Management Control Department of the Motors activity was entrusted to her and then extended in May 2015 to the Equipment activity under the position of Group Chief Financial Officer. After being appointed as Group General Secretary and member of the Optorg Executive Committee in 2019, Laila Ait Elmkadem was promoted to Deputy Group CEO in 2020.
Othman Douiri, a business school graduate, began his career in investment banking, in 1999. In 2005, he joined Sogecap’s Moroccan subsidiary as Head of Solutions for Major Companies, Financing Organizations and Asset Investors. In 2007, he took on a role overseeing the development strategy at Saham, before joining Somed in 2010, where he opened and then managed Maserati’s Moroccan dealership. Othman Douiri joined Optorg in September 2016 as General Secretary and a member of the Board of Directors. In October 2018, he was appointed Managing Director of Tractafric Equipment.
Abdelali Ennaciri holds an engineering degree from ENSEM and an MBA from the University of Sherbrooke. He began his career in 1993 in the transport sector at CTM-LN, then at Transports CARRE. In 2000, he joined Sopriam, the Peugeot, Citroën and DS automotive distributor in Morocco, where he held the positions of Development Director and Peugeot Brand Director. In 2009, he joined the Optorg Group’s subsidiary Tractafric Motors, where he successfully managed the launch of the Isuzu and Mercedes-Benz Trucks ranges on the Moroccan market. In March 2023, he was appointed Deputy Managing Director of Tractafric Motors.
Nawal Baroudi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from ISCAE-Casablanca and a Master’s degree in Finance from UQAM-Montreal. She began her career in 2002 with Ernst & Young as an auditor. In 2005, she joined Lafarge in Morocco. She started working at the Internal Control department before moving to the HR department as the HR Manager of the group’s largest plant in Bouskoura. She was later appointed HR Director of the Premium group from 2015 to 2017, before joining Sopriam where she implemented all HR processes. In addition to her missions at Sopriam, she took up a position at Optorg in 2019 as the HR Director of Tractafric Morocco and HR Development Director of the Group. In 2022, Nawal Baroudi was appointed as the HR Director of the Group.
With a DESS (post-graduate degree) in Human Resources & Social Legislation, Philippe Lemasson began his career in an engineering school before moving to the Vivendi Group. Philippe Lemasson specialises in supporting organisations in a context of structural change. He also possesses solid experience in international human resources management issues. Philippe Lemasson joined the Optorg group in 2012 as Director of Human Resources and is a member of the Executive Committee. In July 2020, as part of the implementation of the new governance of regional affairs, he was appointed to the position of Director of General Affairs of the Group.
