[Is it cold in Mongolia in August?] We'll give you the latest update from the HushTug factory!

Hello! This is HushTug's Hariuna.

Hello everyone in Japan, how are you?

The temperature in Mongolia has dropped by about 10 degrees recently, and it's pretty cold. It's about 12 degrees now, which is about the same temperature as winter in Japan...

Is it summer in Mongolia? Is it already autumn? I'm confused (lol)

By the way, in my last blog I wrote that it was rainy and cold throughout June, but it was also rainy and cold throughout August. (lol)

As expected, it was only hot in July, and I'm sad that summer was so short... (crying)

Well, it's been two months since I last wrote, so I'd like to write about the current state of things at the factory.

Our CEO, Toda-san, is in Mongolia!

In fact, Mr. Toda, the representative of HushTug, came to Mongolia in August. Due to the influence of COVID-19, this was his first visit to Mongolia in a year and a half.

※Mr. Toda went to greet the president of the "Monyire-Dui" leather factory. He gave us a soccer ball made from Mongolian cowhide as a gift. Here is a photo to commemorate their reunion.

When I came here last time, there were only about 10 craftsmen and the factory was still small.

So, we asked Toda directly how he felt about the new factory size!

Toda

As the number of employees increased, I felt a greater sense of responsibility and realized that we needed to grow even more and enrich the lives of all our stakeholders.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been able to grow into one of the largest factories in Mongolia thanks to the hard work of all our employees. I am very grateful.

Personally, I thought, "That's just like Toda-san," but I also felt a strong need to work harder. I'm glad I got to hear it!

Thank you, Toda-san, for your help with the blog. :)

We shipped a full 40ft container of goods!

*This was my first time visiting the shipping site, and I was surprised to see how many people are involved just in shipping. I'm always grateful!

Perhaps because it's summer, many people come to tour the workshop, and the factory is bustling every day.

With the increase in the number of people and bags produced, these past two months have flown by.

The most amazing thing that happened to me this summer was that for the first time, we were able to load a 40-foot container full of goods and ship it to Japan.

Until now, the amount was about 20 feet, or at most 60 to 70 percent of 40 feet.

I had the opportunity to observe the site where the items were being moved from the trucks into the containers, and I felt it was a great experience to see how each cardboard box was carefully moved.

Actually, when HushTug was first exported, it was only four cardboard boxes (maybe even less lol), so I'm amazed at the amount of cardboard boxes we have now!

Over these three years, monthly production volume has gradually increased, and I realized that the factory has gotten bigger.

The new team is here and the study session has begun!

*Mr. Kawada is introducing the company to new employees (talking about the company philosophy, etc.).

As I mentioned in a previous blog , we have recently hired nine new craftsmen.

The nine people did not immediately start making bags, but instead spent the next month and a half learning how to make bags as part of their training.

The summary of what you will learn can be summarised as follows!

1) Learn basic skills

2) Make a bag from scratch by yourself (all types of bags, with teacher support)

3) Produce multiple bags in a team (all types of bags, with teacher support)

Most of the members of the new team had never even touched leather before, and they are all in their 20s, including the teachers teaching the classes.

I sometimes think that it's rare to find a company like this that is made up entirely of young people!

I'm excited to see if this team can make a whole range of bags in the future! :)

summary

The HushTug factory in Mongolia produces bags like this every day, but they are also trying various new things to expand their production team.

It is thanks to the wonderful support from everyone in Japan that we have been able to grow so successfully up to this point.

I want to continue to take responsibility and work even harder for the 20,000 customers who have purchased our bags. Thank you as always.

※Group photo of HushTug Mongolian factory! Number of employees: 53

We translate letters from customers every month and share them with our craftsmen, so if you use our bags, please let us know what you think!

Well, that's all for now.

Thank you for your continued support!

HushTug Haruner