Tractafric Motors, via its Moroccan subsidiary, ranked first among Daimler distributors in the MENA region. The training and internal communication aspects (Compliance guide, internal notes, displays, etc.) were particularly praised by the manufacturer.

It was during the annual conference of MENA distributors early February in Dubai that the prize was presented to the Tractafric Motors team. A recognition from a leading manufacturer which strengthens the group’s determination to aim for exemplary standards in terms of ethics and compliance!

This particularly complex project required 25 months of work, with more than 200 people mobilized at the peak of the project. The operation included the dismantling of the dragline, all the more complex as the machine was located in a mountainous area, then its transport, with a very complicated route from the dismantling area to the nearest ports, and finally the reassembly, upgrading and commissioning of the machine on its new operating site. Now in operation, the dragline continues to be monitored by Tractafric Equipment throughout the warranty period.
With this project, Tractafric Equipment is significantly strengthening its expertise in draglines, expertise that the group now intends to put at the service of an international clientele as part of a new dedicated offer.

For instance Tractafric Motors Cameroon organized a talk under the supervision of the occupational doctor, with the particularity this year of the poignant testimony of a patient. A sharing of experience which aroused strong emotion and helped to raise participants’ awareness of the importance of prevention.

As for Ivory Coast, management organized a conference in collaboration with the company’s women’s association to raise awareness of breast and cervical cancer followed by a screening session. The operation was organized in partnership with a doctor from the PNLC (National Cancer Control Program), the occupational physician, and a midwife who came to testify about her recovery from breast cancer and encourage regular screening for detect possible cancer at an early stage and treat it as best as possible. Message well received by the employees, who welcomed this initiative!

They will be relayed on social networks and in the group’s showrooms in Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Senegal.

A campaign to discover on the Tractafric Motors LinkedIn pages and to relay widely to help eradicate this scourge!

Built in 1966, renovated several times since, it is the work of the architect Jean Prouvé, renowned in particular for the facade of the CNIT in La Défense but also for his contribution to the universities of Niamey and Brazzaville.

A change of premises which is under the sign of CSR in more than one way. Thus, during the move, more than 10 tonnes of paper and 350 m3 of Common Industrial Waste were recycled and furniture donated to charitable associations. The tower itself is HQE certified. It benefits from the curtain wall technique, of which Jean Prouvé is one of the inventors, which promotes the thermal performance of the building, the use of latest generation LEDs and optimized management of water and waste. Finally, the move into the new premises was placed under the aegis of CSR with the implementation of selective sorting, an organization designed to reduce paper consumption and awareness of eco-friendly actions.

The operation was organized in partnership with La Fresque du climat, an association specializing in raising awareness of climate issues. Designed in a participatory and fun format, this half-day workshop allowed participants to confront their preconceived ideas with reality to emerge better informed about the ins and outs of climate change and their responsibility to respond to it. The purpose of the discussion was also to reflect on areas for improvement at the group level.

A pilot session very popular with participants, intended to be duplicated if other employees volunteer.

This partnership is a continuation of the exclusive representation contract signed in January with Massey Ferguson, leader in agricultural machinery, in eight countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo, DRC, Rwanda and Burundi.

Perfectly complementary to the Massey Ferguson tractor offering, of which it shares the premium positioning, the Nardi range of agricultural equipment will offer Tractafric Equipment customers targeted responses to multiple needs: soil preparation, sowing, maintenance and hoeing, treatment phytosanitary, fertilization and harvesting.

Manufactured by the manufacturer Chery, this utility range offers vehicles adapted to the needs of road professionals, particularly for the transport of goods and fruit and vegetables, with a large load capacity, solid performance, economical use and good interior comfort.

Sdama’s offering currently includes two models: the KARRY YOKI Q22B and the KARRY YOKI Q22D, with the second offering a unique long chassis on the market. The range is distributed via the Sdama distribution network in nine points of sale: Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech, Agadir, Tangier, Meknes, El Jadida, Safi, Errachidia.

In Ivory Coast, the day was punctuated by exchanges between the women’s association and management as well as by various speeches. In Cameroon, the tractafricaines program was also busy, with debates on two important themes around health and digital technology, namely endometriosis and social networks, followed by a visit to an orphanage for donations and a lunch organized by management – meetings rich in color and emotion. The celebrations also included an inter-company women’s football championship. Not to mention Morocco, where women gathered for a day in their honor, with a coffee break followed by various activities and a gift giving – a moment much appreciated by all women!

Developed in partnership with the best manufacturers in their field (Terex MP and Powerscreen for crushing, Gmix, Carmix and Betonstar for concrete, Intrame for asphalt), the new range aims to offer construction and mining operators a complete and premium in the construction materials production sector.

Caterpillar distributor in Morocco and Central Africa, Tractafric Equipment intends with this new range to offer its traditional customers additional services with high added value, and to new customers equipment adapted to their needs.

Tractafric Equipment thus becomes the official and exclusive distributor of the Massey Ferguson range in Cameroon, Central Africa, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo, DRC, Rwanda and Burundi.

The Massey Ferguson range, including agricultural tractors from 46 to 370 HP as well as combine harvesters, is very suitable for African markets with robust, reliable, premium machines but with very little electronics, and a competitive price positioning.

This project will build on an initial successful experience in Congo, where Tractafric Equipment has historically distributed the Massey Ferguson range since 1999, with an average market share of 50% over the last ten years.

Its objective: to make machine operators aware of the importance of wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent any risk of accident on a construction site.

Tractafric Equipment Morocco has chosen to go directly to its customers’ sites to present to machine operators and workers the dangers inherent in construction sites, the preventive measures to be adopted and the reactions to have in the event of an accident. The operation also includes the distribution of complete PPE kits: high-visibility vests, protective glasses, gloves and helmets.

The Tractafric teams have already carried out the operation on seven sites, where nearly 250 people have been sensitized. A dozen other visits to customer sites are already scheduled for late August-early September.

With this new offer, Tractafric Motors will meet the needs of a large clientele, especially fleet owners, companies in the public works sector and passenger transport specialists in particular.

The purpose of the audit was to assess the actions taken in the face of risks, compliance with requirements relating to products and services, communication with customers, operational control, performance evaluation and continuous improvement. As a result, all observations from last year have been lifted and no non-compliance has been raised.

A certification that provides the group’s stakeholders with the guarantee that its quality management system complies with their expectations and legal requirements.

The center will provide a complete service, from diagnosis to testing, with international standard equipment, including a 4,250 HP engine test bench unique in the region.

With a reconditioning capacity of one hundred components per year, the Casablanca CRC will meet the needs of construction and mining operators in Morocco but also potentially throughout the African continent.

The subsidiary now distributes on the Moroccan market MADEN, specialist in crushing and screening equipment, INTRAME, world leader in asphalt mixing plants, and GMIX, expert in concrete mixing plants and mixer trucks. Tractafric Equipment Morocco has also concluded an agreement with CARMIX, the world technological leader in all-terrain self-loading concrete mixers, which the groupe will distribute from January 1, 2022.

Complementary to CAT and SEM equipment, these new ranges will enable Tractafric Equipment Morocco to offer its customers in the construction sector a range of equipments unique on the market for its quality and comprehensiveness.

For this project, Tractafric Motors is working in partnership with a local sub-dealer.

Tractafric Motors and its partner are embarking on this new project with the desire to offer Gabonese customers the best quality of service in accordance with Ford standards. A wide choice of vehicles will be offered, from urban SUVs to the Ranger pick-up, as well as a full range of services including vehicle maintenance, repair and overhaul.

This new agreement with Ford is a continuation of a long history between Tractafric Motors and the manufacturer, partners for more than a decade, first in Côte d’Ivoire, followed by Cameroon, DRC, Ghana and Benin.

The official inauguration was held on January 23 under the high patronage of the President of the Republic, represented by his Minister of Public Works.

The complex will produce machines from the SEM range, which is Caterpillar’s second brand. It will supply Central African markets with equipment of international quality at a price adapted to the local market, with an initial production capacity of 250 machines per year.

This machine assembly unit is a first not only in Cameroon but in Central Africa.

Three brands are already distributed by Tractafric Motors Senegal: BMW and Mazda in the passenger vehicle segment and JAC in the industrial vehicle segment.

The launch of the activity is based on brand new infrastructures: the group currently has a showroom and a VP workshop on a very busy axis.

Wishing to establish its presence in Africa, Kalmar has chosen to entrust Tractafric Equipment with the exclusive distribution of its range in ten countries: Congo, DRC, Gabon, Chad, CAR, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Libya.

Kalmar completes Tractafric Equipment’s product portfolio with a range of large lifters over 10 tons and reachstackers aimed at a wide customer base, and in particular supply chain players in ports, inland terminals and distribution centers.

With this new automotive service brand, the group will be able to address the maintenance and service market for cars of all brands.

It is in Cameroon that this brand new partnership will first be launched. The first center will open its doors in Douala, followed by a second in Yaoundé. A wide choice of quick services (tyres, braking, geometry, shock absorbers, engine, oil change, air conditioning) and Aftermarket consumables will be offered at competitive prices. This opening should meet the need of a large Cameroonian clientele for a simple and fast service at an affordable price.

A brand new showroom welcomes customers. The base also has a repair workshop fully equipped to manufacturer standards and exclusively dedicated to Mercedes-Benz trucks and buses. A parts store also enables customers to be quickly supplied with essential parts.

Optorg and its subsidiaries are present in around thirty countries, in Africa and in Europe, variously affected by the Covid-19 epidemic.

Wherever we can, our sales and services activities remain assured, under conditions that comply with the directives of the World Health Organization, to minimize the risks for our employees and customers.

Measures taken in this regard include:

• Systematization on all our sites of enhanced hygiene and cleaning measures;
• Intensive communication on barrier measures to make everyone aware of it;
• Employee information on the Covid-19 and the need to consult a doctor for anyone with symptoms;
• The establishment of a period of isolation for employees who have traveled in risk areas and the restriction of non-essential travel;
• The use of flexible working methods, in particular rotation and teleworking when possible.

This last point can lead to changes in the opening hours of our services. These operating hours are communicated by the subsidiaries on their websites.

In countries where we had to temporarily close our agencies, we provide phone and online support. Again, all the information can be found on the websites of our subsidiaries.

As the situation changes every day, we ensure daily monitoring and management to adapt our activity to the context in each country. We will continue to report regularly on new measures that may be adopted in response to the crisis. In the meantime, our teams remain available to answer any questions.

We would like to take advantage of this communication to thank our teams, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders for their support during this difficult period.

The complex, located in the industrial-port area of Kribi, in southern Cameroon, will produce machines from the SEM range, which is the second brand of Caterpillar.

The unit should be operational next spring, with the aim of initially producing 250 machines per year, which could be increased later according to market needs.

This machine assembly unit is a first not only in Cameroon but in Central Africa.

How to develop mobility to accompany regional integration, this was the question asked to the speakers. The interventions can now be found on the site mobilite.africa.

The exchange will soon continue in three other major African capitals: Accra on December 4, Abidjan on December 11 and Casa on December 19.

A true epic to relive through three media: a book, a film and an exhibition, available on a dedicated mini-site.

This free program gives anyone interested in a career as a technician the opportunity to train via the platform techniciansforafrica.caterpillaruniversity.com. Eighteen modules provide basic skills in safety and electrical, hydraulic and power transmission systems.

For participants who successfully complete the course, it is awarded with a certificate of aptitude – a first-rate recognition, providing strong professional prospects for graduates.

TTT is currently available to Tractafric Equipment customers in Morocco, Gabon, Cameroon and Congo via a secure, personal access code, with plans to roll out the tool to other countries over the course of the year.

The new tool represents an innovation in the world of Caterpillar dealers that is indicative of Tractafric’s efforts to offer operators service with high value-added.

Custom-developed for Optorg and subsidiary employees, the training program was designed to meet issues specific to the Group, including customer focus and the unique aspects of African markets.

This partnership with one of the world’s best universities reflects Optorg’s desire to foster talent within the Group as part of its efforts to continually improve its service to customers and partner manufacturers.

The latest such audit was performed in late February and early March. Tractafric Equipment France passed the test, renewing its ISO 9001 certification for the next three years. The audit covered Heavy Construction Equipment, Mining, Parts, Energy and After-sales service processes, as well as the Information Systems, Human Resources, Legal and Tax processes. The goal of the triennial audit is to assess not only the quality of our processes, but also the progress made in relation to previous evaluations and the Group’s efforts to achieve continuous improvement. This year was unique in that Tractafric Equipment France, which had been certified under the 2008 version of ISO 9001, was audited under the 2015 standards for the first time.

The Group submitted a plan of action that was shortlisted by the automaker to boost growth in this high-potential market (5,000 industrial vehicles, including 2,500 heavy trucks). Adding this new region would increase the number of countries where Tractafric Motors is an official Mercedes-Benz VI importer and distributor to 23 – nearly half of the continent, from Morocco to the DRC – giving the company the most countries out of any Mercedes-Benz VI distributor in the world.

Following its selection in early 2016 to represent Mercedes-Benz industrial vehicles and MCV buses, Tractafric Motors is now able to offer a full range of goods and passenger transportation solutions for the Ivoirian market.

The Group provided a turnkey solution, delivering and installing 12 CAT C32 generators producing 1,1250 kVA, along with cable trenches, electrical boxes and more. The contract also included installation maintenance.

This was not the first time that Tractafric Equipment had been called on to supply power to the ACN in Gabon – the Group also provided the service in 2012. The contract conveyed renewed trust in Tractafric, which beat out competition from leading competitors.

The Group was particularly successful in the Global Construction & Infrastructure (GCI) sector, reaching 50% market share. This performance was driven by an exceptional contract – the sale of hundreds of machines in Gabon as part of the Sotrader product, which is similar in scale to the historic Cameroon-Chad pipeline and Trans-Gabon Railway projects, in which Tractafric Equipment also took part – in addition to a positive overall sales dynamic across all regions.

The staff at Tractafric Equipment celebrated their achievement in late January alongside Caterpillar representatives. The Group had the honor of hosting Paolo Fellin, Vice President for Global Construction & Infrastructure at Caterpillar, which served as a reminder of the enduring, close-knit relationship between Tractafric and its longstanding partner manufacturer CAT, which is 85 years strong.

Société de Transformation Agricole et de Développement Rural (Sotrader) is a company formed via a public-private partnership between the Gabonese government and Olam International to implement GRAINE, a project to cultivate 200,000 ha of land with the aim of creating jobs and improving the country’s food security. Tractafric equipped Sotrader with several hundred CAT machines in 2016.

The agreement provided for Tractafric to host 80 Gabonese technicians at its Casablanca training center and to supply Sotrader with a training center in Libreville. Construction was recently completed on the center, which will soon be handed over to Sotrader and begin training machine operators and maintenance technicians. The Libreville center will have a training capacity of 12 people per week and enable more than 500 Gabonese per year to acquire expertise in technical fields with high valued-added.

Guidance and technical service are what make the difference on this highly competitive market.

This is the second time that Tractafric has topped the list of CAT undercarriage dealers, following a first-place finish in 2014.

These contracts mark Tractafric Equipment’s introduction of the CAT/MWM range of natural gas generators on its markets. The generators are unique in that they run on gas extracted from the field, which limits gas flaring – a technology in line with environmental concerns expressed in our markets, and which meets the needs of many sectors: industry, oil platforms, hospitals, airports and more.

The first module, which covers anti-corruption, is designed to enable employees to assess and expand their knowledge on the topic.

The multi-product launch follows the introduction of heavy-duty Isuzu trucks, which Tractafric Motors has distributed in Morocco since 2015. The initiative is backed by a national network of 13 Sales, Service and Spare Parts (3S) outlets.

The hotline is managed by an outside provider in order to guarantee that what is disclosed remains confidential. Optorg will investigate all information provided to the hotline. Initially launched on a pilot basis at the Group headquarters, the system will gradually be expanded to include all Group subsidiaries.

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This new addition brings the number of countries where Optorg distributes Mercedes-Benz industrial vehicles to 23 – nearly half of Africa – reflecting Mercedes-Benz’s confidence in Tractafric to support its growth on the continent.

These new countries come in addition to the 10 countries where Tractafric Motors already distributes Fuso: Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Congo, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Senegal.

The Tractafric Motors network now has two perfectly complementary vehicle ranges in all 17 countries: the 20-48T range of Mercedes-Benz heavy trucks, which meet the needs of long-haul freight professionals, in particular those who transport heavy and/or sensitive goods, and the Fuso range, which meets urban and suburban transportation needs, with a selection of vehicles ranging from 6.5 to 25 metric tons.