Wagner Equipment is the Caterpillar dealer in Colorado, New Mexico, and far west Texas. Since 1976, the company has been selling and renting CAT machines used in heavy construction, building construction, mining, recycling and waste handling, municipal and governmental applications, forestry, and more.
ReMA News sat down with Tony Lucini, Regional Sales Manager, to chat about Wagner and the company’s workforce development efforts.
Can you tell me about Wagner?
We’re a Caterpillar dealership—selling and renting CAT machines and parts, and a host of other services and product lines. We’ve been in business since 1976 and have over 1,800 employees across 27 locations. I’ve been with Wagner for 14 years in various roles within our sales and marketing teams.
Recently we’re getting more involved with the recycled materials industry, both Caterpillar and Wagner. We want to build and develop strong relationships with recyclers—it’s one of the major reasons we decided to join ReMA. We have great relationships with customers who are members of ReMA and we’re looking to build on that in the future.
Many of our members spend time getting involved in their local communities. How does Wagner give back to or collaborate with the local community?
We have apprenticeship programs with local community colleges. Students participate in a two-year program where they work at Wagner and go to school, which Wagner pays for, and then after graduation participants have a one-year commitment to Wagner.
We have the following programs at Wagner:
- Foundation Pathway: Internal company paid training intended for inexperienced individuals.
- Fast Track Pathway: Internal company paid training intended for intermediate experienced individuals and the second level of technical training after either our foundation or apprenticeship pathway.
- Apprenticeship Pathway: Intended for inexperienced individuals that would like to earn a college credential in diesel mechanics prior to attending our Fast Track.
We currently are partnered with Community College of Aurora, Central New Mexico Community College, and Colorado Mesa University for our apprenticeship program.
In February of this year, Wagner provided a donation to support the Community College of Aurora’s (CCA) Diesel Power Mechanics program, which was then doubled by a matching contribution from the Caterpillar Foundation. CCA’s Diesel Power Mechanics program prepares students for in-demand jobs across the many industries where power is supplied by diesel engines with hands-on training and real-world experience.
How did you hear about ReMA? What interests you about the association?
Caterpillar is a member of ReMA, so it was an organization very familiar to Wagner. We’ve always been somewhat involved in ReMA over the years but only joined recently as we are looking to build our involvement in the recycled materials industry. We have newly redesigned material handlers and newly redesigned grapples and shears. With the renewed focus and new redesigned machines, we’re looking to get these products and services out to members of ReMA and the larger industry.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Wagner Equpiment.
