In Algeria, she watched shell casings rain down onto her balcony as soccer fans fired guns in celebration of a World Cup qualifier win over Egypt.

In Mongolia, a case of meningitis saw her airlifted out on a private jet with no toilet.

And in Turkmenistan, officials combed through her hotel room, seemingly convinced she was a spy.

Those are just a few of the choicest anecdotes she has, having visited 90 countries across six continents.

But beyond the occasional drama, her work with the Construction Equipment Association (CEA) helped UK manufacturers crack international markets, opening doors from Asia to Africa.

Now, she is preparing to move on from the CEA and onto new projects after April鈥檚 Bauma show in Germany, following a change in the organisation鈥檚 focus. She reflects on her experience and why she feels UK manufacturers need more support if they want to succeed abroad.

From politics to plant

Joanna originally started out as a political agent for the Conservative Party but soon discovered her enthusiasm for working to further the interests of construction equipment firms.

Having started working for the CEA for free alongside her husband and former CEA chief executive Rob, she carved out a niche both promoting CEA members at big shows like Bauma and Conexpo in the US and amplifying the sector鈥檚 voice on government committees.

She credits a difficult time at school in the 1960s and 鈥�70s with 鈥渢oughening her up鈥� and preparing her for success in the male-dominated construction equipment world, particularly when she started out in her early 30s with no sector experience.

鈥淚 was undiagnosed dyslexic and got expelled from a boarding school for being 鈥榙isruptive, lazy, and stupid鈥�,鈥� she explains. 鈥淏ut it has made me into the person I am today and I have been able to encourage fellow dyslexics I meet who, even now, are frightened to tell people about their dyslexia in case it affects their employment or social opportunities. I once nearly punched a salesman in a hotel bar in Beijing when he announced that dyslexia was a middle class affectation with no scientific basis!鈥�

Joanna Oliver at a gold mine in the Atacama desert. She recalls how an interpreter had sorted the PPE and offered her a pink hi-vis vest 鈥渁s I was a lady鈥�. She adds, 鈥淚 refused to wear it!鈥� (Image courtesy of Joanna Oliver)

At the start of her career in construction equipment, the UK government offered sizeable grants of up to six figures to companies planning to exhibit at construction shows, in support of exports. 

鈥淪o I started making a bit of a nuisance of myself with government committees and then getting into other government relations areas,鈥� she explains. 鈥淭hat led to some funding so we could do more exhibitions.鈥�

Having started working for the CEA in 1995, by the early 2000s, the organisation was receiving money to go to China. She attended the first edition of Bauma China in 2002, which led to attending the BICES construction equipment exhibition in Beijing and bringing a UK trade mission out to the country.

鈥淚n the early days, we could take component companies out there and Chinese companies were desperate for high-quality components that they could use in big infrastructure projects but also for export to markets like India and the Gulf,鈥� she says.

鈥淭here were many IP violations in the early days 鈥� I remember once seeing 鈥榝ake Perkins鈥� near the UK pavilion at Bauma China in the early 2000s, using the Perkins logo and even a company video showing the company鈥檚 base in Peterborough in the UK.鈥�

The Chinese manufacturers have, of course, evolved rapidly, to the point where they became 鈥渇airly self-sufficient鈥� in their components, Joanna says. The factory that the real Perkins eventually established in Wuxi, China, is of an international standard and so impressive that the CEA would take visitors to show it to them, she adds.

Seeking out developing markets

All of this meant that by 2020, unless companies were making a niche product that the Chinese wanted 鈥渢here wasn鈥檛 really much opportunity because the market had matured and the Chinese could make it themselves鈥�. In fact, major Chinese OEMs like Liugong and Sany are now themselves CEA members.

As China鈥檚 position in the world of construction equipment became more established, so her work took her and CEA members to many other locations in the name of enhancing UK OEMs鈥� overseas business. She took groups out to Bauma Conexpo India, Conexpo in the US, Bauma Conexpo Africa, Bauma Conexpo Asia in Singapore, as well as some markets that are now less appealing such as Iran鈥檚 Conmine exhibition and CTT Moscow, in Russia. Another of these was M&T Expo in S茫o Paulo and followed that up with trade missions to Brazil. That, in turn, led to securing funding to take groups of companies out to Chile and Peru to forge relationships with mining companies. She also ran UK pavilions at exhibitions for the British Embassy in Chile for several years.

Joanna Oliver at the Tavan Tolgoi coal mine, Mongolia, where it was -30C (Image courtesy of Joanna Oliver)

But Joanna was keen to push the boundaries even further.

鈥淥ne interesting part of my job was that I got funding to go and do scoping visits to what, back then, weren鈥檛 even really developing markets,鈥� she says.

鈥淭he first one I went out to was Mongolia in 2009. We鈥檇 always flown over it going to China and I wanted to see if there was something in it for the construction market. It turned out there was, particularly for anyone involved in the mining sector because Mongolia sits on a vast amount of minerals.鈥�

A second visit with the support of the British embassy and the ambassador led to meetings with major mining companies and their consultants, which in turn led to several visits with a group of OEMs. One of the early trade missions there resulted in 拢10 million worth of orders. Other scoping trips to Algeria and Turkmenistan threw up their own unique challenges and opportunities.

More support needed for UK OEMs

Joanna is modest about how much her work has contributed to the sales of construction equipment manufacturers but estimates the total value of deals that her work at the CEA has resulted in to be at least 拢200 million 鈥� and probably a lot more. 鈥淚鈥檓 definitely not a salesperson but what I always say is that we are like a dating agency: You tell us what you want and we will find someone who does it for you,鈥� she explains. In fact, she puts the number of companies that have either been on UK pavilions at exhibitions or on trade missions at at least 400.

And if she plays down her achievements, then clearly the UK government views things rather differently. She was awarded an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 2011 by the late Queen Elizabeth II for services to the construction equipment industry and international trade. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something I am immensely proud of and never thought in a million years I would receive,鈥� she says.

Joanna Oliver (Image: CEA)

Her husband Rob received his own MBE in the 2023 New Year鈥檚 Honours List for services to the construction equipment manufacturing industry, creating what Joanna describes as a 鈥渢wo-gong household鈥�.

That鈥檚 not to say that her efforts in the sector have concluded. She is currently still working with UK Export Finance and the British embassy in Ulaanbaatar to get a Mongolian group of buyers to the UK鈥檚 PlantWorx show this year.

However, she feels the environment for UK manufacturers to reach and do business with new overseas buyers is tougher than it was in the past. 鈥淚n developing markets, you are up against countries that have big EXIM banks who are happy to give loans and structured support to companies in return for them building a project. We鈥檝e got to get the UK government to work on the same sort of structure as, say, the Japanese and the South Koreans are. As a trading nation, the UK has always rocked up, sold some stuff and gone away, leaving a great after sales support network, but not getting involved in downstream activities. But now you have to try and look at the big picture and get involved with the funders, governments, consultants and contractors in the big construction projects,鈥� she says.

What support the UK government did offer has also declined, in her estimation. 鈥淎t the CEA, I used to go to one big exhibition like Bauma or Conexpo, and then at least two other smaller exhibitions each year. We would also try to run trade missions in different parts of the world like Asia, South America, Africa, and the Gulf. At one point, I was overseas about three to four months a year. The government support gradually went down. It never picked up after the pandemic.鈥�

She agrees that she would like to see a more coordinated, structured approach by government to supporting UK exports of construction equipment, noting that trade missions are too expensive to carry out without funding. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 incumbent on government to put that seed corn money down and listen to industry and associations to find out where the potential market opportunities are,鈥� she asserts.

What鈥檚 next?

Nonetheless, there have been successes. Joanna doesn鈥檛 lay claim to having had a hand in the ubiquity of big brands like JCB in markets like India, but she feels that the CEA has been particularly effective when it comes to helping smaller companies unlock new markets, as well as counting representatives of bigger firms like Caterpillar, JCB, Terex and others on her trade missions.

She cites the example of UK firm Brendon Powerwashers that has participated in many CEA trade missions and events and how has dealerships all over the world, or another company that makes tyre sealant that broke into the Chilean market because its product has proven essential to seal machines鈥� punctures on the rocky roads up to mines. UK-based generator rental company Aggreko also scored a deal in Mongolia supplying power banks to off-grid mine sites, to name just a few.

As for what鈥檚 next, Joanna鈥檚 contract with the CEA continues until 7 May and will be in charge of the UK pavilion at Bauma.

After Bauma, the work continues because she is still involved in several government consultations. She also continues to work with another trade association called AMPS which represents manufacturers and suppliers of power generating systems who, with the advent of electric machines, have increasing relevance to the construction sector. And she is heavily involved with the UK鈥檚 PlantWorx show on 23-25 September this year.

Beyond that, she is looking to channel 30 years鈥� worth of experience into consultancy work. 鈥淚鈥檇 be really interested in doing something, particularly with SMEs, to share the knowledge I have picked up over the years and help them to understand how to tap into a new market.

鈥淚t鈥檚 always going to be hard work. You are never going to march in there with a contract for big capital equipment. It鈥檚 a long relationship and many of these things are built to spec 鈥� it鈥檚 about opening up those markets and getting people there. Boots on the ground so to speak. To know what and where the resources are in the market to help find the contacts and potential customers. People in these new markets are nearly always lovely. There are definitely opportunities, but effort is required,鈥� she concludes.