Satisfying the food needs of all Central African populations is at the heart of the SOMDIAA Group policy. An extensive presence From 1947 on until today, with 1970 marking the inception of the SOMDIAA Group, the Group led by the Vilgrain family has never stopped expanding, starting in Congo and setting up a new presence in numerous countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and the Ivory Coast.

From Grands Moulins de Paris to SOMDIAA

1947 : Jean VILGRAIN, a pioneer in food-processing development in Africa.
The Vilgrain family, which runs the Grands Moulins de Paris, a European wheat business leader, acquired a 29,600-acre property in the NIARI Valley, Congo in association with the French sugar beet growers de Wulf family. Thus began the African adventure with the creation of the first cane sugar production plant (SIAN), a flour-milling plant and a peanut oil processing plant.

During that time, several flour-milling and sugar production plants were set up, including in Cameroon, Gabon and Burkina Faso.

Creating food-processing facilities:

1970: SOMDIAA was born.
SOMDIAA's first calling was to export the Group's expertise in the areas of agriculture and food-processing techniques by setting up, under partnership with the Governments and private investors, several industrial projects including flour-milling, cane sugar production, cattle feed, industrial bakery, farming, and dairy products.

From the privatization era until today

Under Jean-Louis VILGRAIN's chairmanship, the SOMDIAA Group evolved according to a new economic setting and to the privatization process. SOMDIAA stopped acting solely as a service provider to be an investor again. In 1991, SOMDIAA realized its first privatization process in Congo by acquiring the old SIAN sugar plant, which later became SARIS CONGO.

1995: Alexandre VILGRAIN took over from his father as the head of the African Group.

Today, the Group concentrates on market sourcing in Cameroon , Chad , Gabon and Congo . With several affiliates established thanks to special relationships with multiproduct wholesalers, who represent key middlemen needed to reach quasi-wholesale and retail markets across the territory, the SOMDIAA Group enjoys a strong presence in all of their market segments, and manages a reasoned supply policy based on seasonal variations in demand.

Remember:

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