Pink Kobelco brings gender equality in construction to the fore

Earthmoving expert, Starbuck Excavation, puts its trust in yellow and blue-green machines but the recent addition to its fleet stood out in many ways.

For one, the new Kobelco SK135SR sports a bright pink paint job, making it truly stand out on a jobsite. But its eye-catching exterior was not the main reason why Starbuck ordered the model.

“For me personally, it’s a conversation starter to show Starbuck Group is a supportive workplace,” said the company’s founder and director, Jimmy Starbuck.

“Somewhere in 10 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.”

Jimmy is the third-generation owner of Starbuck and owes the success of the company to its hard-working staff, many of whom are women.

For example, the new pink Kobelco SK135SR will be operated by one of Starbuck’s latest recruits, Taylah, but it doesn’t stop there. In fact, some of the company’s high-level executives such as its Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer are women who have earned their roles through sheer hard work, a high-level skill set and a passion for the earthmoving industry.

“The reason behind purchasing this digger in pink is to invite more women into the industry,” said Starbuck Excavation COO, Aurelia Pirvu.

“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 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 them in construction... it is a great industry to be a part of.”

Starbuck Excavation posted images of the pink excavator on the company’s social media accounts, where the comments were largely supportive and positive except for a couple of nay-sayers who thought the colour choice was ridiculous and the cause a waste of time. Starbuck said it is not fazed by the negativity, instead glad it has generated important conversations as intended.

“With this digger, we obviously don’t expect things to change overnight,” Aurelia added.

“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, get curious, look it up on the internet and hopefully be encouraged to enter the field.”

The company is fully committed to the cause and has purchased another Kobelco SK235SR in pink to join the SK135SR in the fleet later this year.