Link(s) :
The company is partly based in Gabon with a 95,000 ha concession undergoing a certification process supported by PPECF. The company is headquartered in London, where it is listed on the stock exchange.
In changing its name in March 2019, from Obtala Ltd (Obtala) to Woodbois Ltd, the combined group signalled the completion of a transition for the original Obtala, from a diversified, African resources play, to a business focused on the production, processing, manufacture and supply of sustainable African hardwood and hardwood products, and on the supply into Africa (and across the globe) of sustainable softwood, hardwood and related products.
Obtala was incorporated in the United Kingdom in August 2007 and was listed on the London Stock Exchange (AIM market) in April 2008, describing its business activities as including mineral resource licences, exploration and development. During the period up to 2012, the company also diversified into agriculture in Tanzania, and forestry in Mozambique. However, following the appointment of Miles Pelham as Chairman in 2016, and a change in the senior and operational management, the focus of the business began to concentrate on forestry, timber transformation and timber trading. When in May 2017, the company acquired WoodBois International (WBI), a global trader of African timber and timber products, and a producer of sawn timber from its own natural forest concessions in the Republic of Gabon, the focus of the company was firmly established on the production, processing, manufacture and supply of sustainable African hardwood and hardwood products. Woodbois Gabon was thus created in 2017 with Mabala Ghossein Hadi as general manager. Woodbois also acquired in July 2021 the company FGTIB which owns a CFAD of 56,000 hectares and 15,000 hectares under allocation.
Link(s) :
