LiuGong celebrated 60 years of successful presence in the global market and completed production of 400,000 units of loaders in November 2018. A report on the special occasion of celebrations at LiuGong headquarters in China...

Customers, distributors and suppliers from China and overseas, stakeholders who have worked with LiuGong over the years and government officials gathered at the vast LiuGong International Industrial Park in Liuzhou, Guangxi, China, to celebrate LiuGong's 60th anniversary. People who had been part of the growth of the company over the years were felicitated during the event, especially the senior most people who were there since the beginning of the company. Addressing the vast gathering, Zeng Guang'an, Chairman, Guanxi Liugong Group elaborated on the company's journey over the years.

LiuGong also celebrated the production of its 400,000th wheel loader. Coinciding the celebrations, six new products including 990F excavator, B170DL bulldozer, S935 sugarcane harvester, TC800C5 crane, 4180D motor grader and 886H loader made their debut at the ceremony, fully demonstrating the array of LiuGong's large-scale and intelligent equipment.

A global dealers' meeting was organised as part of the 60 years of celebrations. The meet discussed on the company's achievements and the action plans in the coming years. Top performers from different regions have been recognised with awards and hailed their efforts in achieving the feat.

Growing stronger
Established in 1958, LiuGong, a pioneer in the production of loaders, laid a solid foundation for the technology, talent cultivation and management for the development of construction equipment (CE) industry in China. In 1966, LiuGong rolled out the first wheel loader accredited by China, which opened a new chapter in the company's development.

So far, LiuGong has 32 complete product lines in six categories to meet the customers' demands of various applications as well as extreme operations. In April 2002, LiuGong successfully produced 899 loaders in one month, which was known as '899 Campaign', a huge leap of production at that time. Taking this opportunity, the company launched its reform towards becoming a modern company. Later, its Board of Directors promoted to build an 'open and globalised' LiuGong, boarding the fast lane for the company's globalisation, which was shown in its fast growth of overseas revenues.

Backed by its historical legacies, LiuGong has developed the core values of 'customer oriented, assuring the future by quality; people foremost, create value through cooperation', striving to build an international brand that leads China's machinery industry.

Holding the heart of a craftsman
In 2003, LiuGong developed its first oversea distributor in Morocco in North Africa and started its globalisation. LiuGong has been building its global presence of 10 overseas subsidiaries, 9 overseas regional parts distribution centres and more than 300 distributors in over 100 countries. All LiuGong products and customers are supported by five R&D centres worldwide. In 2012, by the acquisition of civil construction machinery segment of HSW in Poland, LiuGong laid foundation for export of China's proprietary technology and products to the EU. Today, LiuGong has production facilities in China, India, Poland, and Brazil. LiuGong India Company and LiuGong Dressta Machinery were awarded with the 'Best Foreign Investor', 'Model Enterprise for China-India Cooperation', and the 'Best Employer' by local governments.

In 2015, LiuGong launched National Earthmoving Machinery Engineering Research Center and LiuGong Global R&D Center, making LiuGong the only national demonstration base for technological innovation and industrialisation of earthmoving machines. A total of 19 product lines at LiuGong have been upgraded and 18 new products have hit the market, including a range of machinery for sugarcane planting, heavy-duty mining excavators and loaders, mining trucks, large dual-wheel cutters, smart manufacturing system, and mobile compressors. In 2016, LiuGong presented the world's first vertical lift wheel loader. And the new generation products of H-series loaders, E-series excavators, D-series rollers and motor graders, and C-series forklifts now are available all over the world and have been contributing more and more in sales revenue. A custom designed torque convertor was independently developed and manufactured for LiuGong's 8128H with many innovative technologies and approaches; and the hydraulic grab by Shanghai Jintai is among the best of its kind globally.

Over the past six decades, LiuGong keeps a close bond with its customers, distributors, suppliers, shareholders, and other stakeholders to weather through difficulties and share success together. During industry downturns, LiuGong took a series of quick actions like capacity adjustment, organisational reform, team optimisation, cost control, sustained input into technological innovation and product development internally and optimise the marketing channels externally. As a result, distributors, direct subsidiaries and joint ventures become new drivers of its rapid growth in China. As the economy warms up, the excavator business becomes its growth pillar with the highest revenue and profit and LiuGong has significantly improved market competitiveness on a global level.

Heading for century
LiuGong's endeavour of developing first-class advanced technologies is a valuable asset to its ambition to be a century-old enterprise in the world. Sixty years is but a short period for LiuGong, which is setting sail on its next journey. Amid the national reforms and industry transformation, LiuGong will adhere to 'Total Globalisation, Total Solution, and Total Intelligence' approach with greater intelligence, courage, and passion.

Guided by its mission and vision, LiuGong will usher in a new era with much greater confidence and look forward to a centurial business.