James “Jimmy” Starbuck and the wider team from Starbuck Excavation took to wearing pink to celebrate the arrival of a new, pink, piece of Kobelco equipment marking a continued and enduring commitment to supporting women in the industry.
A ‘larger-than-life’ personality in the earthmoving industry in Australia, Jimmy is quick to point out to you that Starbuck Excavation as it is today, would not be operating at the standard it is, without the team who are all more than happy to work hard in order to remain one of the highest achieving earthmoving companies in Australia.
Additionally, Jimmy, Starbuck Excavation, Kobelco and Melbourne Tractors are all trying to raise awareness that the earthmoving industry is not just for males, acknowledging the huge extent to which the industry is kept in motion by the many hard-working women that have broken into the male dominated industry.
“For me personally it’s a conversation starter to show that Starbuck Group is a supportive work place,” Jimmy said, “somewhere in ten years I’ll be proud that my daughter will walk onto a worksite and be seen for her abilities and skills rather than anything else.”
“A pink machine and that goal being in the forefront of my mind might just make that happen.”
Though the pink Kobelco SK135SR, which will be operated by one of Starbuck’s female operators is new, the idea of behaving equitably and fairly to both current and future employees is something which the company has long believed in and continues to pride itself on.
Both the chief financial officer and chief operations officer of the company, are women who have worked hard and applied their high-level skill set to the industry, as Aurelia Pirvu, chief operating officer at Starbuck Excavation & Plant Hire spoke on.
“The reason behind purchasing this digger in pink, is to invite more women into the industry,” Pirvu said.
“We are lucky in Australia that women are already part of the construction industry, but for people outside of the industry, who may not know about this fact, we’d like to use it as conversation piece to highlight that women can operate machinery, that women can have big careers in the field.
“It’s important that the new generation knows that there is a future in construction and that it is a great industry to be a part of.”
Starbuck Excavation has noted a mixed reception to the decision on social media and online discourse, but as part of the company’s beliefs, “nothing ventured nothing gained”, so the group is firm in its belief to promote change with this pink excavator.
“With this digger, we obviously don’t expect things to change overnight, the intention behind it is to bring awareness and have people who don’t know much about the industry who could potentially be a great fit, spot the machine in traffic or on a worksite and from there get curious, google it and to hopefully be encouraged to enter the field,” Pirvu said.
The Starbuck Group hasn’t slowed down and stopped after acquiring the SK135, with another pink Kobelco – the larger Kobelco SK235SR – joining the team later this year.