The journey from Abidjan towards Ivory Coast’s capital, Yamoussoukro in the north, starts on the Autoroute du Nord.

It is a busy road that leads from the city centre through busy traffic, traders and businesses that are ready to sell goods so families can eat and life can go on.

Just off the autoroute and near Les Brasseries Ivoiriennes, lies Scierie Rama. Managed by Sila Baba, the sawmill opened its doors to the public in 2017.

“It’s a tough life to be a sawmiller in Ivory Coast,” says Baba.

“It’s hard work to move the logs, and we have to obey all the rules of the Société de Développement des Forêts (SODEFOR). They control the country’s forests and sawmilling sectors,” Baba continues.

Ivory Coast is one of several West African countries that have imposed increasingly stricter regulations to protect and restore the country’s forests and to encourage replanting.

The country now has some 430 000 ha of commercial plantations that contribute to local log exports.

The country’s timber sector comprises veneer, plywood and round log production, and has an active sawmilling sector that produces close to 872 000 m³ of sawn timber per year for local consumption.

In the past, the country’s focus on log exports made sawmilling and furniture manufacturing difficult. The renewed importance of producing round logs for domestic use has reinvigorated the sawmilling sector and Scierie Rama to build profitable local sawmilling businesses.

Scierie Rama: Working to support families

“We started this sawmill in 2017,” says Baba.

“We started small, but we now have three Wood-Mizer LT15WIDE sawmills that we use to cut the large-diameter hardwood logs that we get from SODEFOR into sawn timber. We work closely with the government on what sizes they want us to cut.”

The Scierie Rama crew. With Wood-Mizer, everyone is now earning a salary to care for their families.

“The Wood-Mizer sawmills help us to produce good quality sawn timber that we sell to the market. The machines cut straight, and we don’t waste timber. Our customers buy from us because they know our timber is accurate,” Baba continues.

“We also have our own saw sharpening and setting equipment from Wood-Mizer that we use to maintain our blades. This helps us to save money, and we don’t need to wait for sharp blades. This helps our production.”

“We also use Wood-Mizer’s branch in Abidjan, which is managed by Solomon Opoku-Mensah, to get spares and new blades. Solomon is always at the shop to make sure that we get what we need. We now don’t have to wait to get replacement parts and blades. We can now work harder and make more money.

“Most importantly, Wood-Mizer allows me to put food on the table for my family. That is the main reason we leave so early and come back home late with something to feed everyone,” Baba says.

About Wood-Mizer in Ivory Coast

Wood-Mizer has a wide dealership network across West Africa.

Dealerships in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Liberia and Senegal ensure that spares, blades, technical training and after-sales support are available to sawmillers throughout the region.

After sales support is an important part of ensuring that sawmillers can grow sawmilling businesses in Africa.

The company’s dealership in West Africa allows sawmillers to focus on growing their businesses instead of worrying about support.

The modern, 11 kW electric motors fitted on the LT15s and narrow bandsaw blades that require less electricity to cut have lowered Scierie Rama’s electricity bill, allowing them to cut more profitably.

The Wood-Mizer product range provides for entry-level, affordable sawmills through to heavy-duty industrial-capacity sawmills. This makes it possible to start and then grow the sawmill as the sawmiller can afford it.

Blade maintenance equipment cuts costs further, and sawmillers can sharpen and set their own blades instead of having to pay a supplier to do this.

The company also recently released a new range of machines for furniture manufacturing. The range is focused on delivering affordable, durable manufacturing tools that sawmillers and manufacturers can use to rework sawn timber into finished products.

Do you want more information about the company’s product range? Visit www.woodmizer.co.za