"Tractafric, more than 75 years of doing business in Africa"
1937 : THE ROOTS OF TRACTAFRIC
Tractafric, which was the licensed representative of the Caterpillar Tractor Co., a US corporation, for Central Africa, was acquired by Société du Haut-Ogooué (SHO) in 1937. SHO, a business founded in 1894, was doing business throughout Central Africa and was developing logging interests and constructing a plant.
1947 : ENTRY INTO THE OPTORG GROUP
SHO became part of the Optorg Group in 1947. Created in 1919 by a major textile group from northern France to develop its wholesale distribution business in different parts of the world -notably in Russia and in the Far East-, the Optorg Group decided during this time to strengthen its African focus. It therefore acquired an interest in SHO.
1955 : OPTORG CONSOLIDATES ITS GROWTH IN AFRICA
After acquiring SHO, in 1955 OPTORG bought Établissements Peyrissac, a company doing business in West Africa since 1908 and specializing in general business activities (food, hardware, construction materials, cars and motorcycles, etc.).
1963 : INVOLVEMENT IN THE LOCAL ECONOMY
The OPTORG Group began to play an increasingly active role in the economies of African countries where it did business: in 1963, it created 12 businesses incorporated locally -subsidiaries owned under a SHO and Peyrissac joint venture-, in charge of developing local business for both parent companies.
1963 : THE SHO-PEYRISSAC MERGER
Also in 1963, shortly after creating the 12 African subsidiaries, Optorg arranged for the merger of SHO and Peyrissac at the Group level. The new entity established its headquarters in the La Défense district of Paris in a building that still houses the Group's operations.
1993 : ONA ACQUIRES THE OPTORG GROUP
In 1993, Morocco's largest industrial and financial group, ONA, acquired Optorg. With more than 25,000 employees and consolidated revenue of 33 billion dirhams, ONA owns interests in mining, agro-food, retail, finance and growth industries: telecommunications, energy, the environment and real estate. The group is listed on the Casablanca and Paris Stock Exchanges.
TODAT: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TRACTAFRIC EQUIPMENT AND MOTORS DIVISIONS
Today, the Optorg Group focusing its developing along two lines:
» Tractafric Equipment, which operates in Morocco and Central Africa, serving a customer base that includes companies in logging, mining, oil and gas, public works, etc.
» Tractafric Motors, which markets and sells a full range of passenger cars, commercial vehicles and buses in Central Africa and in the Ivory Coast.
