A subsidiary of the SOGAFRIC Groupe, the Gabonese Industrial Company (SOGI, as its French acronym), will have eventually met the challenge it set for itself in 1997 to produce buses in Gabon. A prototype of urban bus built in its workshops, in the Oloumi Industrial Area, in the south of the capital, was introduced in September 2000 and sales should start this year. Without abandoning its main domain of expertise (boiler making, heavy truck equipment, fine plate making, metal structure and metalwork, general mechanic and diesel injection), SOGI is investing in this new niche, with some real ambition. It aims at getting, at the start, the Gabonese market, mainly made of urban and school transportation companies in the main cities, as well as the big companies willing to purchase transportation means for their employees.

Afterward, SOGI management envision to broaden their market to the other countries in the region. To that end, they have made contacts in Angola. "Now, we are ready to meet the needs of all markets," states the general manager, François Marie, who further indicates that the company possesses the expertise, the staff and the equipment that would enable him to build different buses of different sizes, at the rate of 6 per month

The first model was built from a motorized deck from the Japanese heavy equipment manufacturer Isuzu. It required three and a half months of work to obtain a vehicle which, according to the general manager, is "wholly suited to the local market," in so far as it offers guarantees of comfort, suitability and security.

By its modular design, the made in Gabon bus that came out of SOGI's workshops can boast a capacity of 113 to 126 places while offering the possibility to offer only 43 or 51 seated places to allow a greater number of standing passengers.

With a quality equal to imported vehicles, these buses should also be price competitive given the much lower labor costs compared to Western countries.

Already a dealer for the German Man and Japanese Isuzu brands, SOGI is also ready to answer the requests of its customers who desire other brands. So, in order to support its ambitions, it has invested in the renovation of its 12 000 square meter facilities in the Oloumi Industrial Zone, where a staff of 200 people presently work. This number could grow to 300 agents when mass production starts with the first orders.

This experience is a reminder of another one some years ago by the Industrial Bodywork Company of Côte d'Ivoire, which specialized in building buses and vans with a staff of 300 and a monthly production capacity of 50 units.