Machine Heads Video: Caterpillar Celebrates Women with an All-Female Operator Competition

The Compact Equipment crew had the honor of attending Caterpillar’s first Women in Construction Celebration March 13-14 in Clayton, North Carolina. It was one of the best events we’ve attended in some time. Cat dealers invited 18 female equipment operators from around the United States and two from Brazil to Cat’s Edward J. Rapp Customer and Training Center to compete in equipment skills tests, learn about the latest industry trends and network with peers.

The event was an amazing two-day celebration of women in construction — both from the perspective of pro female operators and Caterpillar’s own workforce of amazing women. Along with skills challenges, competitors participated in a panel discussion where they shared best practices, discussed managing a successful career in a male-dominated industry and talked about the importance of recruiting more female operators and technicians into the workforce.

On the second day of the celebration, these 18 highly skilled female operators visited the Edward J. Rapp Customer and Training Center to compete in a variety of grueling equipment skills tests over a nine-hour period. The challenges included expert operating on three different machines — a small excavator (Tons of Fun), small wheel loader (Rock ‘N’ Roll) and a compact track loader (Hammer Time). Watch the video above to see it all, meeting both the female equipment operators and the amazing women at Cat who helped pulled this celebration together.

To learn more about how Caterpillar is celebrating women in construction, click this link.

Keith Gribbins is publisher of Compact Equipment.