About TB
Tropical Bois is the result of over a century in woodworking experience: a relay of four generations.
It all started in Italy at the end of the 1800s making furniture; the first lumber was produced in the 1940’s, rotary veneer since 1946, plywood since 1953 and sliced veneer since 1971.
Established in the 1980’s in Ivory Coast, Tropical Bois produces lumber, sliced and rotary veneer, and is widely recognized by it clients as one of the best manufacturers in Africa, thanks to the quality of its products and the fairness of its sale policy.
The industrial premises extend over approximately 45,000 square meters and include two veneer slicers, two rotary veneer lathes and cutting lines, two veneer jointing lines, three band-saw lines for lumber production, one sliced veneer dryer, three rotary veneer dryers, and ten kilns for lumber that encompass a capacity of over a thousand cubic meters.
The availability of a large space allows for better production control, which in turn ensures that product quality is as high as possible.
The log yard, which covers an area of six hectares, on average contains over 5000 cubic meters of logs handled by two gantry cranes rated for 25 and 16 metric tons respectively, and seven wheel-loaders. The availability of a large stock of logs ensures that the quality and level of production remain constant over time.
The thermal energy needed for kilns and dryers is produced by two high pressure boilers, whose furnaces are designed to optimize combustion while minimizing emissions of noxious particulates.
The mechanical servicing workshop includes five lathes, three millers, one radial drilling machine, two mechanical presses, two car lifts, two hydraulic bending machines and two hydraulic guillotine shears, five wire welding machines, two TIG welding machines, two plasma torches, in addition to several arc welding machines.
An equipment inventory that could easily rival that of a firm in the mechanical sector.
The availability of good mechanical equipment is in fact necessary to maintain the production plants in excellent working condition, especially since quality spare parts have to be ordered from international providers.
Also minding that all industrial and non-industrial buildings in the firm have been designed and built by internal personnel.
Similarly, all of the production plants, equipment and pipelines (both industrial and non-industrial) have been built and/or assembled by Tropical Bois’ in-house technicians.
A new indipendent workshop for turning and milling will be completed in 2013, with the purpose of training new technical personnel both for Tropical Bois and for other firms.
The electrical servicing workshop, used for preparation and maintenance of most of the electrical command and switchboards needed for the production plants, includes a workshop for rewiring electric motor: this undoubtely is necessary in a country where the voltage supply fluctuates up to +/-25% of the nominal operating voltage, taking a huge toll on all electric motor and coils.
In order to mitigate the effects of the frequent current blackouts, four generators sets have been installed, that can supply a total power of over 2500 KW.
The spare parts warehouse on average has in stock 10,000 articles, in order to reduce waiting time for shipping of items from Europe.
The company's fleet of vehicles, one of the most extensive in the Ivory Coast, includes a total of 11 loaders, 25 forklifts, 3 self-propelled cranes, 32 between small trucks, pickups and all-road vehicles, 23 large trucks, 19 skidders.
The industrial division of the Tropical Bois (forestry and reforestation departments excluded) today includes around 630 employees.
