A women-only event turned heavy equipment into a confidence builder

Claps and cheers filled the air as women who had never before touched heavy machinery got behind the wheel for the first time.

Erixon Equipment, a Des Moines-based agricultural and industrial machinery company, held a women-only event on Saturday, Aug. 8, where eight women took turns operating an excavator, articulating wheel loader, forklift and mini skid loader.

Bryan Erixon, the CEO and founder of Erixon Equipment, and Kimberly Johnson, who runs the company's marketing, planned the event to help show that machine operating — traditionally a male-dominated field — is user-friendly and fun.

"We thought what a great opportunity to have women come out and have them see what it's like," Erixon said.

As the group walked toward a skid loader, Erixon advised that "as long as you tell someone to get out of the way, you're set," with a grin.

Sara Greenberg, 42, of West Des Moines, is an accountant and bookkeeper who works with Erixon Equipment. She said she "came in with an open mind."

"I grew up in an environment where this was never an opportunity or an option for me," Greenberg said. "I really wanted to experience doing something that I never would have imagined myself doing."

She excitedly took to the mini skid loader, getting the hang of the twists and turns quickly.

"It took a little bit of a learning curve," she explained. "But once you got in there and felt confident, it was actually pretty straightforward and easy. ... A little bit more practice and I could be an awesome skid loader operator."

Between turns on the equipment, participants took photos with the machine. Some flexed their muscles, others popped a leg or put on their biggest grin.

"I love seeing the smiles when people come off the machines, and people are talking about how they think they can do it," Johnson said. "And that's exciting."

Amber Smith, 29, a social media influencer from Des Moines, said she had driven a Zamboni before, but it didn't prepare her for the rocky ride of a skid loader.

"I figured it wouldn't be too hard if they were letting complete newbies onto the machines," Smith told the Register after operating a few of the machines. "It kind of felt like a video game with the joystick for steering."

After each participant moved rock or dug a hole, cheers filled the air, with smiles on everyone's faces.

"Look at you go!" many of the event's participants yelled as others operated machinery. "WOO-HOO!" others said.

Kelli Todd, 41, of Des Moines, who works in health care administration, said although operating the machinery was "a little intimidating," it was also "exhilarating."

For Greenberg, there was "no judgment," she said. "We're all in this together. It felt very empowering and was just a lot of fun."

"I think we're all here recognizing that we've never had this experience ... and there's nothing to judge," Todd said. "It felt incredibly empowering."

Kyle Werner is the breaking news and public safety reporter for the Register. Reach him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: A women-only event turned heavy equipment into a confidence builder