WAGNER ASIA Group of Companies
Bruce S.Wagner /President /CEO Wagner Equipment Co/
In the 20 years since my father and I visited Mongolia and decided to establish the Caterpillar Inc. Dealership for the country much has changed, but interestingly much has stayed the same. On June 30th 1996, there were parliamentary elections and the Democratic Union Coalition won a major victory, winning 50 of the 76 seats in the State Great Khural. At that time Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj was the party leader. On June 29th of this year there were parliamentary elections and the MPP won a landslide victory, winning 65 of the 76 seats and Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj is the President of the country.
Over these 20 years Mongolia has worked hard to establish a democratic free market economy in a part of the world were both are a rare commodity. The challenge continues as Mongolia has experienced periods of economic challenge and rapid economic growth. This roller coast ride has made doing business in the country both exciting and challenging. The last 3 years or so have of course been very difficult but today we have a new government that seems determined to first establish economic stability and then create the conditions that will attract investors back to the country and stimulate growth.
Our business is intimately tied to the development of the mining and mineral export sectors, to construction and infrastructure, to energy and agriculture, so we sincerely hope that the new government can promote the development of those sectors to a new level.
Since our humble beginnings in 1996 we have developed a group of companies that is today staffed by a young, energetic and professional group of Mongolians, supported by a very small group (<2%) of foreign nationals, most of whom are subject matter experts, who are in Mongolia to pass on their skills and experience to their Mongolian counterparts.
We have achieved this by hiring the best Mongolian talent we could find and by investing heavily in training and development. Our training programs are some of the best available in the country today, whether they are technical, functional or leadership focused. We are a recognized 6 Sigma (quality program) company with 8 black belts and around 200 green belt Mongolian practitioners, and today we provide 6 Sigma training to other major Mongolian companies including, Oyu Tolgoi, Golomt Bank and Petrovis.
Our UB workshops and laboratories are state of the art and provide best in class support for our many customers. Combined with our more recent facility developments in the south of the country, including our recently opened 5,000 m2 Gobi Distribution Services which provides support services to the large mines in the Gobi that have the potential to become the economic engine of the Mongolian economy.
Over the years we have also prided ourselves on contributing back to the country that provides us with our livelihood and our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program is recognized as one of the best in Mongolia and has resulted in us being recognized both nationally and internationally, including the highly prestigious US Secretary of State’s award for Corporate Excellence.
Today we remain as optimistic as we were when we first arrived in Mongolia 20 years ago and we wish the present administration every success in getting Mongolia back on the track to economic growth and prosperity. For our part we welcome fair competition and we have grown our business on being able to demonstrate that the products and services we provide represent the best value for money in their category, and all we ask for is a level playing field in terms of the regulatory and legal framework so that we are given the opportunity to demonstrate this.
To all our Mongolian employees I wish you a very happy 20th Anniversary and I look forward to working with you all as we forge our future in Mongolia in the next 20 years and beyond.
Denver, CO, USA
September 2016