By Amaryllis Flores

John Clements is an accomplished international businessman who from an early age appears to have been destined to become a globetrotting entrepreneur. A native of Wales educated primarily in Europe and raised with a stateside home, he developed a worldly awareness at a young age. John credits his father and Rugby coach, “Clem” Clements, for teaching him how to effectively keep his head in the game in life and at play.

“John is a dogged and determined guy,” said colleague, long-time friend, and fellow Rugby player, Tractor Export CEO Steve Massey. “His position in Rugby is referred to as ‘hooker.’ The hooker has to know how to problem solve quickly on the front lines in the midst of intense play…that’s John.”

As president of Minequip, a full service provider for new and used construction and mining equipment in Africa and Latin America, John and Steve’s staff emulate the dynamic growing team of partners that TractorExport continues to build as part of their best business practices.

“We provide optimal equipment and expertise on site for our clients,” said Steve. “We can do this because of partnerships we have with companies like John’s. Our vision is to do things differently by developing the best team for global business.”

Minequip specializes in taking used construction equipment like Caterpillar engines and rebuilding them to deliver the most valuable piece of supportive hardware on developing project sites.
“We take the older technology machines in high demand overseas, strip them down and then completely rebuild them,” said John. “What is happening in the construction business in developing countries is that the latest technology is not best suited for major project support. So we present the ideal solution in zero hour rebuilt construction and land clearing equipment. This fits in well TractorExport’s business of supporting land clearing operations for agricultural projects”.

Massey adds “our partnership with Minequip allows us to support most agricultural land clearing operations with equipment, parts and on-site support. We can support Caterpillar, Komatsu and Volvo based operations on a very efficient basis.” The challenge for securing the best new or used construction equipment on a large mining or agricultural project site in lesser developed countries ranges from shipping delays on brand new machines to the more common hurdle of getting the right kind of machine to the job site.

“Our customers in developing countries want the older equipment,” said Steve. “Emission standards in the US keep getting tougher, so for the quality of the fuel in Africa, the older technology engines that can use higher content sulfur fuel are best. When our client’s team is on the ground and something needs repair, they can’t afford to lose time figuring out why a circuit board is not working. It’s much better if they can use a wrench.

In response to requests from TractorExport clients for rebuilt caterpillar engines, Minequip and TractorExport have joined forces. “What John is bringing to the mining industry, we are now bringing to agriculture. This is part of the symbiotic tie-in between the two companies; problem solving together for our customer base.”

Similar to the mining industry, agricultural projects are often busy at work 22 hours a day, seven days a week, and down time is an unaffordable luxury. Beyond getting the appropriate dependable equipment, trained mechanics are an essential component.

“One of the additional problems for everybody internationally is getting good mechanics that can work in large projects overseas,” said John. “We have a large pool of mechanics we can send anywhere who can fit in to train personnel and work in rugged environments.”

TractorExport and Minequip also have that training support niche in common. After years of teamwork on the rugby field to score big for the home team, Steve and John have now partnered professionally to keep the construction wheels of the world going around.