Sold down the river - Salva le Foreste

COMPANY PROFILES 53Part IIICompany ProfilesTHE EU PARENT COMPANIES profiledin this section have been selected because they allcontrol large areas of forest in Central Africa.Not all are exclusively or even primarily timbercompanies; they are, however, all involved in processinglogs into value-added wood products, although for manytheir primary processing facilities are in Europe. Recentmoves by the producing countries to increase investmentin downstream processing has meant that many of thecompanies are only now making serious investments insuch facilities in the countries where they log. Table 1 onpage 11 summarises the EU companies and their CentralAfrican operations. The maps on pages 34-39 and thecorresponding data tables in the Appendix indicate as faras is known the location of companies’ concessions. Theinformation in the report is mainly taken from publishedreports and articles, official sources and field visits. Eachcompany profile presents a brief overview of the parentcompany, followed by a description of the forestry-relatedoperations in each Central African country where theyoperate. Every effort has been made to verify theinformation included in the report but data is oftendifficult to obtain or contradictory. We would welcomecorrections and updates and also details about EU parentcompanies whose operations are not included in thereport.ALPIAlpi Spa is one of Italy’s leading timber companies. Itspecialises in the production of wood-based panels andhas a substantial presence in the timber industries ofCameroon and the Ivory Coast. 1 Alpi’s sales turnover for1998 was US$120 million compared to US$ 69 million in1996. Although it is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange,the company is largely controlled by the Alpi family. 2CameroonAlpi has been logging in Cameroon for over 20 years andoperates through two subsidiaries, Alpicam and Grumcam(see below). The company’s primary interests are veneerand plywood, 3 and its processing facilities at Bonabéri,near Douala, are the largest and among the best equippedin Cameroon. During the season 1996-7, Alpi subsidiariesproduced 202,000 cubic metres of logs, of which 61,000cubic metres were exported. 4 According to unpublishedofficial statistics, the company exported approximately10,000 cubic metres per year of plywood and 30,000cubic metres per year of veneer sheet in the late 1990s. 5Alpi appears committed to retaining a major timberbusiness in Cameroon, particularly as a timber processor,but also as a logging company. It is expanding still furtherits large processing facilities at Bonabéri 6 and has recentlybeen awarded a large new concession, bringing its totalconcessions to over 214,261 hectares. It also buys logsfrom third parties to supply its processing facilities. 7During the early 1990s, a consultancy report for theInternational Tropical Timber Organisation found thatforest management in the concessions of Alpicam andGrumcam was unsustainable, partly as a consequence ofthe then forestry law. 8 As with most operators inCameroon, the group’s commitment to implementingsustainable forest management remains unproven.AlpicamAlpicam’s processing facilities at Bonabéri have an inputcapacity of 120,000 cubic metres per year. 9 In July 2000,the company was awarded a new concession (UFA 10-026), 10 which consists of 128,449 hectares in the EastProvince. 11GrumcamAlpi acquired Grumcam from the German company,Danzer (see Danzer, page 55) in 1992. 12 ThroughGrumcam, Alpi has processing facilities near Mindourouin the Kadey district of the East Province. This facility hasa processing capacity of 47,000 cubic metres per year. 13Grumcam has one current concession (UFA 10-051) of85,812 hectares which was awarded in 1997. Thecompany plans to log two sub-divisions of the UFA,known as assiettes de coupe, until June 2001, half theamount foreseen by the forestry law. 14 In December 1999,a field inspection by the ministry responsible for forests(MINEF) in the East Province noted that Grumcam shouldbe congratulated for being the only company inspectedwhich was managing its operations in accordance with theforestry law. 15 Although the inspection report is unclear inits findings, the MINEF team recommended that thecompany be exceptionally awarded an additional assiettede coupe so that its operations did not become illegal. 16The team also noted that Grumcam had not elaborated itsfirst management plans, although the parent companystates that its plans are ready and have been awaitingapproval for over a year. 17BASSOBasso Legnami Srl is a small, family-owned Italian timbercompany. The company has 40 employees in Italy andsales turnover for 1999 was 10 million euro (US$ 8.5million). Its main markets are the EU and USA, and itspecialises in logs, lumber and parquet flooring. 18GabonBasso Timber Industries Gabon (BTIG)Basso has a logging and processing operation in Gaboncalled Basso Timber Industries Gabon (BTIG). BTIG has484 employees and its turnover in 1999 was 9 millioneuro (US$ 7.7 million). 19 The company has concessionstotalling 450,000 hectares and has log processing capacityof 80,000 cubic metres per year. 20 It specialises in logs,sawn wood and veneer and plans to establish plywood,laminated products, parquet and electricity projects in thecountry. 21Basso used to have links with Compagnie Forestière duGabon (CFG), 22 a part Gabon-owned forestry company,but has now broken the relationship. 23