Starbuck Pink SK135
Starbuck Excavation and Melbourne Tractors go Pink to support women in construction
Jimmy from Starbuck Excavation is a larger-than-life personality in the earthmoving
industry in Australia and specifically Melbourne, however he will be very quick to point out
to you himself that Starbuck Excavation as it is today, would not be operating or be as
successful as it is without his team who are all more than happy to put in the hard yards to
remain one of the highest achieving earthmoving companies in Australia.
Three generations of Starbuck family earthmovers have been at the helm of the company
growing the group over decades, and this mindset of passing the company down to the next
generation in years to come is part of the reason why Jimmy with the help of Kobelco &
Melbourne Tractors is trying to raise awareness that earthmoving is not just for ‘blokes’ but
to a huge extent kept in motion by the many hard-working women that have broken into
this once very male dominated industry.
“For me personally it’s a conversation starter to show Starbuck Group is a supportive work place;
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”, explains Jimmy.
Even though the pink Kobelco SK135SR, which will be operated by one of Starbucks latest
recruitments Taylah, is brand new, the idea of not discounting potential staff members based on
their sex is anything but new at Starbuck. For example, and to name just a few, both the Chief
Financial Officer as well as the Chief Operations Officer of the group are women who have earned
their voice at the table through nothing but years of hard work and an extremely high-level skill
set as well as their love for the industry that make them the best person for the role.
Aurelia Pirvu, COO at Starbuck Excavation & Plant Hire: “The reason behind purchasing this digger
in pink, is to invite more women into the industry. 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, that the new generation knows that there
is a future for in construction… it is a great industry to be a part of.”
Of course, as with anything that is a little bit outside of the box, anything that is a little bit daring,
people will be quick to judge and according to Jimmy his social media accounts, with an
Instagram following close to 50k, has been a hotbed for supporters and nay-sayers alike as well
as people who think it’s a waste of time and that buying a pink machine isn’t going to change
anything. But as they say, nothing ventured nothing gained, so in our mind this idea is one that
has to be supported in full.
“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”, Aurelia concludes.
Finally, as with anything that the Starbuck Group puts their mind to, it will be done in force so if
you think the SK135 looks great, you will be pleased hear that there will be another pink Kobelco
joining the team later on this year with the larger Kobelco SK220SR already on the water from
Japan. We can’t wait!