Wogen PLC
History
1951
Bernard Buckman, a respected London-based trader, is a co-founding member of the 48 Group – the ice breaking group of 48 British companies that started trade with the People's Republic of China in the early 1950's. At the Moscow Economic Conference as part of the UK Trade Mission in 1952, Buckman meets the China trade delegation, and they start doing business. This initial meeting is the start of exceptional trading and personal relationships with China's political and commercial leaders.
The 1970's
In 1972 Nixon becomes the first American president to visit China. His ping pong diplomacy with Premier Zhou Enlai leads to an agreement between the countries that opens the doors to Western companies doing trade with China. During the 1960's and 70's, Bernard Buckman was the vice president of the Sino British Trade Council. He was also a consultant to London-based metal trader, Rudolf Wolff Ltd, where he got to know a young Colin Williams. The two men struck up a close friendship. In 1972, they formed Wogen after the first visit to London of the China National Metals and Minerals Import-Export Corporation.
Their new company Wogen Resources Ltd starts to trade in off-exchange non-ferrous metals using and deepening its relationship with China.
1972
Within a short period of time, Colin Williams negotiates to represent the interests in China of two large Australian producers; Hamersley Iron and Comalco. This new relationship with Hamersley leads to the first imports of iron ore to China, a precursor to the 200+ million tons per annum that China imports nowadays.
1974
The Hong Kong office opens and acts as a catalyst for increased business and closer ties with Chinese counter parties.
Wogen Engineering, UK is formed and sells the Technicolor film process to the Chinese. In the United Kingdom, the three day working week is introduced.
The 1980's
The 80's are characterised by the interest in anything to do with computers. A variety of metals classified as electronic metals, such as Gallium, Germanium and Indium, were used in greater quantities for LEDs, fibre optics and display panels. It was also the decade of Star Wars and the great scrabble for poly crystalline silicon.
1981
Wogen opens its first office in Peoples Republic of China (Beijing) - one of the first British companies (and the first metal trader) to do so. Wogen Engineering changes its name to Wogen Technology to reflect a move to encompass higher technology products. This arm of the company starts selling highly technical equipment such as a Troposcatter Communications System to China.
1984
The Shanghai office opens to provide better penetration for our metals and for our agency and technology businesses. In particular, the local Chinese steel mills are working up an increasing appetite for the Australian iron ore we are bringing into the country.
The 23rd Olympic Games are hosted in Los Angeles, seeing China competing for the first time since the founding of the People's Republic.
1987
Wogen's office in Tokyo opens its doors. The office is staffed from the beginning by Japanese speaking traders; initially Allan Kerr, followed by Dominic Boyle. The advantages of being able to negotiate in Japanese are obvious, and it has allowed Wogen to develop very good personal relations with a wide variety of Japanese companies. The 1987 stock market crash occurred on 'Black Monday' - October 19, 1987 - when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell from 2246 to 1738, losing 22.6% of its total value.
1988
GPM Development, a company specialising in computer software, is formed, allowing specialised trading platforms to be designed and run for those around the Wogen trading desk. McDonald's opens a restaurant in Moscow's Red Square.
1989
With large quantities of strategic metals being supplied from the CIS, but with contracts being negotiated in Moscow, the opening of Wogen's office in Moscow is very well timed. In the same year, a press conference is held where the SED government announced that travel restrictions for East Germans had been lifted. In that night hundreds of thousands celebrated throughout the city as the Berlin wall was opened.
The 1990's
In the 90s, the break-up of the Soviet Union provided a massive source of metals from their stockpiles. A lot of this material was shipped via the ports of Estonia and Lithuania, giving great trading opportunities, but also depressing the prices for these products worldwide.
1991
Castle Crushing is set up to crush ferrotitanium and titanium sponge for Willan-Wogen alloys Ltd in England's industrial north. Willan-Wogen Alloys Ltd win the Queen's Award for Export.
1995
Wogen opens an office in Guangzhou. During the 90s, Shenzhen had become the centre of the Chinese electronic industry, with large amounts of materials being imported and exported via close links to Hong Kong. Our new office immediately taps in to this activity. The Wogen Group's annual turnover tops £250m.
2005
Wogen plc successfully floats on AIM in London.
Many of the world's minerals and resources companies make significant gains on the world's stock markets, fuelled primarily by China's huge industrial and economic changes.
2006
On the Queen's birthday April 21st it was announced that Wogen Titanium Ltd had won the Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade 2006. The Award was presented to the company at their offices No 4, The Sanctuary, Westminster at noon on June 21st by Her Majesty's Representative, the Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London, Col Neil Johnson, who after stayed for B-B-Q sausages in the garden. Subsequently 3 members of the company attended a drinks party at Buckingham Palace on July 11th where they were introduced to The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. As the company employs 4 people they had to draw short straws to see who would go.
Wogen Titanium bought lots of Titanium sponge from the US defence Stockpile (DLA) and sold quantities to China for making golf clubs, spectacles, watches and other commercial applications. The quality was fine but when Mr Wang (44) enquired how old the sponge was, he couldn't believe it was older than him and had been lying in the stockpile since the 50's. The size of the sponge was generally too small for steelmaking so Wogen mixed it together with larger Russian sponge and sieved it, and when the steel industry took off in 2004/2005, most of the mixed material went to steel mills in Korea, Taiwan and the EU. All the material was processed in the UK which wasn't an easy job as small sized Titanium sponge is highly combustible and on occasions created small fires in spite of which the processors never complained and always delivered on time.
Wogen's Titanium sales grew from £8m in 2003, to £13m in 2004 and to £31.7m in 2005. This is the 2nd Queen's Award for the company, the previous time being 1990 when, as Willan-Wogen Alloys Ltd, they won a Queen's Award for exporting Ferro-Titanium.
2009
On 5 October 2009 Wogen plc returned to the private sector. This followed the successful outcome of a Scheme of Arrangement conducted by the senior management team and resultant delisting of Wogen plc from AIM on that same date.
This period of transformation also saw the birth of Sanctuary Partners Limited, a company owned by the senior management team, which became the Wogen plc parent on 5 October 2009.
