- 1968 to 1980: Creation of Socapalm with 18 000 ha planted and 4 500 employees.
- 1980 – 1990: Increase in production from 23 000 tons/year to 57 800 tons in 1990.
- 1986-87: Global economic crisis: sharp fall in oil palm’s world prices, having a devastating effect on the oil palm company.
- 1988: The State, short of funds and Socapalm’s main donor, enters into performance contracts, forcing Socapalm to take drastic management decisions:
- Workforce reduction (-11%),
- Employee benefits reduction,
- Sub-contracting various tasks, etc.
- 1993: Appointment of the former Minister of Agriculture as a General Manager with as main objectives:
- A restructuring plan: workforce reduction by 37%,
- The preparation for company privatization: The State of Cameroon, the sole shareholder, includes Socapalm in the list of companies to go out of its portfolio and to be transferred to private ownership,
- Creation of the fractionation section (Mula Palm), Nkapa.
- 2000:
- June 30:
- Conclusion of Socapalm’s privatization process, resulting in the signing of the transfer agreement in Yaoundé. 90% of Socapalm shares, held by the State of Cameroon are transferred to the Palmcam Group for a value of 21 billion FCFA,
- The Palmcam Group (consisting of national and foreign investors), acquires 70% of the shares with 3% of the shares reserved for current employees. The State retains 10% of the shares as collateral for developed land and signed a long lease of 60 years with Palmcam. The remaining 17% of the shares is for private investors.
- 1st July: Palmcam establishes itself. The new team takes on a new challenge: reorganization of the administrative, accounting, industrial and agricultural departments.
- 2004: The plantations’ regeneration is launched with a replanting target of 500 to 1 000 ha/year.
- 2005:
- 30 June: Finalization of the social reserves’ payment of 403 million FCFA to the workers present on 30 June 2000. An agreement is reached between the group of staff representatives, supervised by the trade unions, and General Management in order to resolve the problem of free allocation of 3% of shares to personnel brought by the Palmcam Group,
- Closure of the Mula Palm fractionation unit in Nkapa,
- Revision of the emphyteutic lease with The State, which reduced from 78 529 to 58 063 ha.
- July 2006: The Civil Society of Palm Investment (Socipalm) is created after a Constituent General Assembly.
- 2007:
- The “villagisation” operation of the Eséka plantation (around 2 600 ha) becomes effective by subletting all plantation parcels to the Nyong and Kelle division elites,
- Socapalm also launches its Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) approach and embarks on a certification process (health, safety, security and environment).
- 2008:
- Diversification into rubber cultivation,
- Signing of a 3-year partnership with the German Development Bank (DEG) for co-financing of social investments in health (HIV/AIDS) and education in the plantations.
- 2009:
- April 7: Socapalm is listed on the Douala Stock Exchange with 20.31%,
- A partial absorption of la Plantation de la Ferme Suisse begins,
- Construction of the new palm oil mill at Mbambou starts.
- 2010:
- Integration of Edéa plantation into Socapalm,
- The partnership with DEG is renewed for a period of 4 years,
- 2011: The first harvest from a rubber tree takes place at Socapalm.
- 2012:
- Launch of the ISO 14001 certification’s process,
- Partnership with the National Forest Development Support Agency: purchase of 3 000 seedlings for the reforestation of villages and school areas in the plantations.
- 2008 – 2013: Thanks to DEG support, more than € 301 000 is invested in social infrastructure on our plantations.
- 2013:
- April: Signature of a partnership with the Institute of Cooperation and European Development (IECD) for the establishment of an Agricultural Training School (EFA) in the Kienké plantation,
- June: Inauguration of the new palm oil mill at Mbambou (30 T/h),
- November: 3 palm oil mills become ISO 14001 certified.
- 2015:
- March: All Socapalm sites are ISO 14001 certified,
- June: The first-year students trained at the EFA complete the first cycle,
- For the first time, Socapalm produces more than 100 000 tons of palm oil,
- The Mbimbe health center is handed over to The State for the benefit of the local and surrounding population,
- The tripartite platform of Dizangué (Mbongo and Mbambou) is created.
- 2016:
- A primary school is constructed in Mbambou and boreholes are installed in Mbongo’s neighbouring villages,
- The tripartite platform of Dibombari, Kribi (Kienké) and Edéa is created.
- 2016 – 2017: Revision of the Socapalm Enterprise Agreement concluded between General Management and the workers’ unions. The new agreement is signed in 2017 and gives considerable benefits to the staff with, as a result, an upward revision of salaries.
- 2017:
- Implementation of the Group’s responsible management policy with support from EF (Earthworm Foundation, ex-TFT, The Forest Trust),
- Launch of the new housing renovation program with 135 renovated/new housing units,
- Signature of a new Enterprise Agreement, which provide significant benefits to the staff, including increased salaries,
- Installation of a biomass boiler at Mbongo and a new palm kernel crushing plant at Edéa,
- Release of the first class of students from Kienké’s EFA.
- 2018:
- ISO 14001:2015 certification obtained by all sites,
- Meeting between Socapalm’s Management and the Belgian National Contact Point (NCP) in Brussels in Belgium,
- Construction and opening of the English school in Mbonjo, on Dibombari’s villages,
- Nomination of a new director, Mrs. Audrey EKONGOLO, first woman to hold this position,
- Annual crude oil production reached, once again, a record 135 641 tons,
- Continuation of the new housing renovation program with 269 renovated/new housing units,
- As prelude to the RSPO certification, start of HCS/HCV studies on the 6 sites,
- Close collaboration with WWF on local populations,
- The tripartite platform of Eséka is created.
- 2019:
- New record with the production of 140 349 tons of crude palm oil.
- Continuation of the housing renovation policy on all plantations with 196 new/renovated housing units.
- As a prelude to RSPO certification, continuation of HVC studies on the 6 Socapalm sites.
- Further increase in storage capacity with 3 new tanks of 2 000 tons each at Mbongo, Dibombari and Eséka.
- 2020:
- New record with the production of 145 898 tons.
- Continuation of the housing renovation policy on all plantations with 256 new/renovated housing units.
- Support to the special national solidarity fund in the fight against Covid-19 with a donation of FCFA 50 000 000.
- August: renewal of ISO 14001:2015 certification.
- 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 tool with the expansion of the palm oil mill in Eséka.
- Construction of new sports facilities at the various sites: Eséka, Kienké, Mbambou and Edéa.
- 2021:
- New record with the production of 152 323 tons.
- Establishment of the Sustainable Development (SD) Department with 1 SD Manager, 2 Assistants in charge of RSPO and ISO 14001 monitoring and 1 Manager in charge of relations with stakeholders.
- Established a plan for regular consultation and engagement with local communities.
- Obtained RSPO certificates for 4 of 7 sites (Socaport, Eséka, Mbongo and Mbambou).
- Update of the Socfin Group’s responsible governance policy including new requirements due to revisions of the certification standards.
- Renewal of the ISO 14001:2015 certificate for the 6 sites.
