Wood-Mizer Mirror – Sawmilling in Senegal

Legend is that Senegal’s former Portuguese colonial masters made a mistake when they gave the country its name.

When the Portuguese met a Wolof-speaking Senegalese in the 16th, they assumed that Sunuu Gaal was the country’s name. Little did they know that that it meant “These are our boats,” and that the speaker was eyeing their boats!

Senegal is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the westernmost point of the African continent.

With a population of just over 16 million, Senegal is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the westernmost point of the African continent.

Senegal warm climate changes from a tropical south to a semi-arid middle part and baking hot desert conditions in the north.

It shares borders with several countries and because it is an important economic hub in West Africa, its exports flow freely into the region, the success of this making Senegal the 119th largest export economy in the world.

The African Renaissance Monument in Dakar celebrates Africa’s liberation from ignorance, intolerance and prejudice.

The prosperity of a growing economy and a stable political landscape order in the country has allowed Senegal to build diverse languages, religions, ethnic groups and cultures into a success story that few countries in West Africa can compete with.

The Grande Mosque de Touba confirms Senegal’s religious freedom.

The diversity that is Senegal.
 

Sawmilling in Senegal

Senegal has about 6.2 million hectares of classified forest, most of it in the country’s Casamance region.

Wood-Mizer is the preferred sawmill brand in Senegal

Firewood and charcoal are the most important forest products but round logs exports also add to the timber economy. Most of the logs are exported but consistent volumes are made available to sawmillers in Senegal to process into sawn timber for local use.

A logging ban imposed by Senegal and Gambia to clamp down on timber exports and log smuggling has made it more difficult for sawmillers in Senegal to get logs for processing.

But sawmillers in the country are used to hardship.

A Wood-Mizer sawmiller in Touba.

They have stockpiled logs to bypass the log scarcity and are continuing to trade and create a booming sawmilling sector in the country.

The sawmilling trade in Senegal is generally organised in loose sawmilling associations that group together in sawmilling and timber processing hubs scattered across the country.

The Pikine sawmilling compound in Dakar and the Lagal compound in Kaolack show how these hubs are busy crossroad where sawmillers, merchants and manufacturers trade and barter for the best deals.

Wood-Mizer is the preferred brand in both sawmilling compounds and across Senegal. There are a number of reasons for that.

Wood-Mizer Africa’s official dealership in Touba, which is located in Senegal’s Diourbel region.

The friendly staff of Diaw Ibrahima, Wood-Mizer Africa’s dealer representative in Senegal.

With logs no longer freely available because of the logging ban and focus on log exports, sawmillers know that they need to use every inch of available timber as best as possible.  

Wood-Mizer sawmills, offer affordable modern technology that wastes less and produces more sawn timber for higher profits.

A good supply of spare parts makes it easy for sawmillers in Senegal to run mills.

The dated circular and wide bandsaw sawmills that that are still used in Senegal waste a lot of timber and energy. Sawmillers know that Wood-Mizer sawmills increase their profits because they now have more sawn timber to sell.

Manufacturers that trade next to the Wood-Mizer sawmills also prefer using the sawn timber that is produced on a Wood-Mizer sawmill.

Hand-crafted furniture cut on a Wood-Mizer sawmill comes to life in the hands of Senegalese carpenters

Wood-Mizer sawmills cut accurate boards that need very little finishing before manufacturing can start. This makes it useful for manufacturers because their production costs are lower and their profits higher.

The affordable pricing of Wood-Mizer sawmills and the availability of a Wood-Mizer dealership in Senegal makes it easy for sawmillers to save money and grow their businesses.

Because Wood-Mizer understands the frustration of not having a local dealership that can ensure good service, it has grown its dealership network across Africa to also now include Senegal.

Wood-Mizer’s dealership in Senegal is headed up by Moustapha Diaw who runs an independent spares and distribution network across Senegal known as Diaw Ibrahima.

Moustapha Diaw (WM Authorised Dealer - Senegal) receives a dealership plaque from JJ Oelofse (WM Corporate Director for Emerging Markets) and Fred Kapenda (WM Area Manager - French Africa).

New machine sales and after-sale service support, technical advice, spares and training are some of the benefits that sawmillers in Senegal can rely on when they buy a Wood-Mizer sawmill. 

Moustapha is also a sawmiller himself and therefore understands the value of good service.

He’s ploughing the lessons learnt by himself to grow his sawmill back into the Wood-Mizer dealership for the benefit of sawmillers across Senegal.