Company History
The Thanry family, originally from Hungary, migrated to Lorraine in 1620. In fact, his ancestors were part of the mercenary troops enlisted by the Duke of Lorraine Charles IV, during the Thirty Years War, which opposed him to the King of France Louis XIII. By the end of the 30-year war, 80% of the population of Lorraine had disappeared. The causes are the following: killings and massacres of civilian populations, famines, epidemics, migrations, not to mention the Inquisition, 60,000 women supposed witches burned at the stake at that time. In need of manpower, the Duke of Lorraine allowed his mercenaries to settle on the abandoned lands, which the ancestors of the family did.
350 years later, in the beginning of 1900, Jean Thanry, one of their descendants is still located in the south of Nancy in one of the largest deciduous forests in eastern France, he is both a logger, charcoal worker and small farmer.
His two younger sons; Maxime and Jules, rent around the 1910th, a small hydraulic sawmill in the village of Faviéres. In 1913, not having the sufficient financial surface, they joined forces with Mr. Gossot to take over a more modern sawmill which was in liquidation. Sign of the times, stationery letterheads change from hydraulic sawmill to steam sawmill.
They will officially create their company on June 2nd, 1913, a year later they are mobilized and will be released only in 1919, the factory will be closed until 1915 when it is taken care of by the military administration to manufacture gratings. Faviéres is located less than 50 KM from the front. Jules had a son, Roger, and Maxime 3 sons, Max, Jean and Paul.
In 1958, Paul in collaboration with his father, his uncle and his cousin Roger run the family business, in the space of 3 months his three partners die, he finds himself alone in the management of the company, his two older brothers having already left the family business and built a modern plywood factory next to the sawmill, they will be the first to make skateboards and in collaboration with Lattoflex box spring slats.
On February 5th, 1958, Paul Thanry decides to go to Ivory Coast, he misses his plane which crashes in Bordeaux, there will be no survivors, so he will take the next flight on June 6th, he will practically be the only passenger in the cabin.
In 1959, he bought his first business, from Mr. Paul Létuvée, who had arrived in Ivory Coast in Issia, in 1930, independence was programmed, he thought that Europeans no longer had their place in Africa as it was the case in Algeria.
The company EFPL (exploitation forestière Paul Létuvée) is still the holding company of the Thanry Côte-d’Ivoire group. Unconscious or visionary, Paul Thanry will be assigned logging sites in the Guiglo region. At that time the region was almost inaccessible and transport costs exceeded the cost price. It will be years before it can start operating.
Seven years later, he created the THANRY INDUSTRIAL COMPANY whose activity gradually evolved from simple log trading to processing and logging. Sixty-five years of presence in Ivory Coast and a sustained investment policy have allowed us to acquire a solid experience in the processing of exotic woods as well as an adapted and efficient production tool.
The company operates on two industrial units: Duékoué and Danané. Mr. Gilles Thanry, Paul’s son, is now the general manager of the company. His son, Mr. Maxime Thanry, is the Deputy Director General. Today, the THANRY Group annually transforms 150,000 m3 of logs 30,000 m3 are unrolled and the rest sawn.
At the beginning of 1993, we set up a peeling plant. Our factory consists of three processing lines. A few years later, Thanry will go further in the transformation by setting up a plywood workshop and acquiring the Danané factory.
Maxime THANRY Mario CARRILLO Gilles THANRY
Today, our company operates on two industrial units: Duékoué and Danané. Mario CARRILLO, Maxime THANRY and Gilles THANRY are in charge. Annually, our Group processes 150,000 m3 of logs, 30,000 m3 of which are unrolled while the rest are sawn. Thanks to the use of modern means of management and communication, as well as the unparalleled competence of the more than 1000 people who make up our team, we guarantee the respect of quality and deadlines in the realization of your orders.
These exceptional assets, combined with the remarkable infrastructure and economic dynamism of Côte d’Ivoire, strengthen our confidence in the future. They encourage us to engage sustainably in reforestation and forest management initiatives and seize the opportunities of the voluntary carbon market.