-
- 1968 to 1980: Creation of Socapalm with 18 000 ha planted and 4 500 jobs.
- 1980 – 1990: Production rises from 23 000 tons/year to 57 800 tons/year in 1990.
- 1986-87: Global economic crisis: sharp fall in world palm oil prices, with devastating effects on the palm plantation company.
- 1988: The State, short of funds and Socapalm’s main donor, concludes performance contracts, forcing Socapalm to take drastic management measures:
- Staff cuts (-11%),
- Reduction of staff benefits,
- Sub-contracting various tasks, etc.
- 1993: Appointment of the former Minister of Agriculture as General Manager with as main objectives:
- A restructuring plan: 37% workforce reduction,
- Preparations for company privatization: the State, the sole shareholder, puts it on the list of companies to be removed from its portfolio and sold to private partners,
- Creation of the Mula Palm fractionation unit in Nkapa.
- 2000:
- June 30:
- Completion of Socapalm’s privatization process, with the signing of the Yaoundé agreement to sell 90% of Socapalm shares held by the State of Cameroon to the Palmcam Group for a value of CFAF 21 billion,
- The Palmcam Group (made up of national and foreign investors), acquires 70% of shares with 3% reserved for staff in active employment at the time. The State retains 10% of shares as a security for the developed land and signs 60-years long lease with Socapalm. The remaining 17% will be listed on the stock exchange.
- July 1st :
- Palmcam moves in and the team in place take on its new challenge: reorganization of the administrative, accounting, technical and agricultural resources.
- 2004: Plantation regeneration is launched, with the aim of replanting 500 to 1 000 hectares a year.
- 2005:
- 30 June: Finalization of the social reserve payment of CFAF 403 million to workers present on 30 June 2000, an agreement reached between the group of staff delegates, led by the unions, and General Management to resolve the problem of free allocation of 3% of staff shares held by the Palmcam Group,
- Closing of Mula Palm fractionation unit in Nkapa,
- Revision of state-owned land under lease which is reduced from 78 529 to 58 063 ha.
- July 2006: The Société Civile d’Investissement du Palmier (Socipalm) with employee shareholding is created following a constituent General Assembly.
- 2007:
- The villagization operation of the Eséka site (around 2 600 ha) becomes effective with the subletting of all plantation plots to the elites and populations of Nyong and Kelle,
- Socapalm also launches its Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) approach.
- 2008:
- Diversification into rubber cultivation,
- Signature of a 3-year partnership with German Development Bank (DEG) to co-finance social investments on plantations in the areas of health (HIV/AIDS) and education.
- 2009:
- 7 April: Listing of 20.31% of share capital on the Douala stock exchange,
- A partial takeover of the “Ferme Suisse” plantation begins,
- Construction work starts on the new Mbambou palm oil mill.
- 2010:
- Integration of the Edéa site into the Socapalm plantations,
- Renewal of the partnership with DEG (German Development Bank) for 4 years.
- 2011:
- The first rubber tree is tapped at Socapalm,
- Launch of the ISO 14001 certification process.
- 2008 – 2013: Nearly CFAF 200 000 000 (€ 301 000) are invested in social infrastructure on the plantations with DEG support.
- 2013:
- April: Signing of a partnership with the European institute for Cooperation and Development (IECD) to set up an Agricultural Family School (AFS) on the Kienké plantation,
- June: Inauguration of the new Mbambou palm oil mill (30 T/h),
- November: 3 palm oil mills were audited for the initial ISO 14001:2004 audit (Mbongo, Mbambou and Eséka).
- 2015:
- March: Socapalm is ISO 14001 certified,
- For the first time, Socapalm produces more than 100 000 tons of palm oil in one year,
- June: The first class of students at AFS completes its first cycle,
- Creation of tripartite dialogue platforms.
- 2016: Creation of tripartite platforms in Dibombari, Kribi (Kienké) and Edéa.
- 2016 – 2017: Revision of the Socapalm Company Agreement between General Management and the workers’ unions. The new agreement is signed in 2017, granting considerable benefits to staff, with an upward revision of salaries as a result.
- 2017:
- Implementation of the Group’s responsible management policy with support of EF (Earthworm Foundation),
- Launch of the new housing renovation program,
- Signing of the new Socapalm Company Agreement, which grants additional benefits to staff, including higher salaries,
- Installation of a biomass boiler at Mbongo and a new palm kernel crushing plant at Edéa,
- Graduation of the first class of students from Kienké’s AFS.
- Renewal of ISO 14001:2004 certificate.
- 2018:
- ISO 14001:2004 certification upgraded to ISO 14001:2015 for all sites,
- Meeting between Socapalm management and the Belgian National Contact Point (NCP) in Brussels, Belgium,
- Construction and opening of the English-speaking school in the village of Mbonjo, on the Dibombari site,
- Appointment of a new administrator, Mrs. Audrey EKONGOLO, first woman to hold this position at Socapalm,
- Annual crude palm oil productions reach, a new record of 135 641 tons,
- Continuation of the housing renovation program across all plantations,
- As a prelude to the RSPO certification, HCS/HCV studies are undertaken on all 6 plantations,
- Close collaboration launched with WWF aimed at neighboring populations,
- Creation of a tripartite dialogue platform in Eséka.
- 2019:
- New annual production record of 140 349 tons of crude palm oil,
- Continuation of the housing renovation program on all plantations,
- As a prelude to RSPO certification, continuation of HCV studies on Socapalm’s 6 sites,
- New increase in storage capacity with the installation of 3 new 2 000 ton’s tanks at Mbongo, Dibombari and Eséka.
- 2020:
- New increase in annual crude palm oil production to 145 898 tons,
- Continuation of the housing renovation program on all plantations,
- Support for the special national solidarity fund in the fight against Covid-19 with a donation of CFAF 50 000 000,
- August: renewal of ISO 14001:2015 certification for all plantations,
- Implementation of standards and preparation for RSPO certification in the plantations,
- Implementation of the new ERP “Sage X3” on all sites,
- Creation and rehabilitation of our industrial facilities with the expansion of the Eséka palm oil mill,
- Construction of new sports fields on the different sites: Eséka, Kienké, Mbambou and Edéa.
- 2021:
- New annual crude palm oil production record of 152 323 tons,
- Creation of a Sustainability Department (SD) with 1 SD Manager, 2 Assistants in charge of RSPO and ISO 14001 monitoring and 1 Manager in charge of stakeholders relations,
- Establishment of a regular consultation and engagement with local communities,
- RSPO certificates obtained for 4 of the 7 sites (Socaport, Eséka, Mbongo and Mbambou),
- Review of the Socfin Group’s responsible management policy to include new requirements due to revisions of certification standards.
- 2022:
- Weather conditions led to a slight drop in production in 2022 to 146 232 tons of crude palm oil,
- Update of the Socfin Group’s responsible management policy, including new requirements and compliance with GPSNR policy elements (sustainablenaturalrubber.org),
- Establishment of “Review Meetings”: Discussion platforms with local communities to present annual achievements and the status of social and environmental actions carried out in the previous year,
- The Dibombari and Edéa sites obtain RSPO certification,
- Renewal of RSPO certificates for the Socaport, Eséka, Mbongo and Mbambou sites.
-
- RSPO certificate obtained for the Kienké site. Renewal of RSPO certificates for Socaport, Eséka, Mbongo, Edéa, Dibombari and Mbambou sites,
- 94% of bipartite meetings held with communities, i.e. 181 meetings out of 192,
- Renewal of ISO 14001:2015 certifications for all sites,
- November: Elections of employee representatives, with the appointment of new representatives for a period of 2 years,
- Complete refurbishment of the Mbongo palm oil mill,
- Application of 2 salary increases respectively in February and July 2023,
- Signing of the new collective labor agreement and the company agreement.
