12 minute read
Caterpillar Industry Sales Representative Promotes Diversity
By Lori Lovely
CEG CORRESPONDENT Yuliya Maslava
When Yuliya Maslava, industry sales representative of Caterpillar, talks about diversity and inclusion, she’s not merely echoing company values. She’s the embodiment of these beliefs she and her employer share.
Having been surrounded by multiple ethnicities and cultures while in college and when she lived in Chicago, Maslava said she “would like to see more at Caterpillar.”
She knows her presence counts — she is a woman and an immigrant. She promotes diversity by participating in recruitment panels and virtual job fairs. She believes it’s helpful for others to see women in positions like hers. She also believes it’s beneficial to “learn from people with unconventional career paths.” Footsteps to Follow
Born in a small town in Belarus, Maslava grew up with her single mother, who worked for 42 years as an engineer for a manufacturer of off-highway trucks. She visited her mother’s workplace on “bring your kid to work day,” where she witnessed how equipment is made.
While attending college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and working in a restaurant, where she said she “honed my communication skills,” Maslava was invited to interview with Caterpillar. She took on the opportunity and truly connected with the people at the company, which prompted her to accept the position she was offered.
Two years later, after going through Caterpillar’s Marketing Training Program, which she describes as “a crash course covering all divisions, designed to create a wellrounded employee,” Maslava is still in her position. Still learning. Still encouraging other women. Sales Support
Maslava is quick to clear up a common misconception about her position as industry sales representative.
“I don’t sell the equipment; the dealer does that,” she said.
Instead, she describes her job as a “sales support consultant — a bridge between the manufacturer and the dealer.”
She considers it a partnership, with her role to deliver answers about availability, pricing, special configurations, training opportunities, and helping the dealer excel at their business.
Part of that training includes “a lot of opportunities to operate the equipment: dozers, excavators, loaders,” she said.
Maslava has had her turn on all of them. Acknowledging that she’s not an expert equipment operator, she believes having that first-hand experience enables her to understand the equipment better. She finds it helpful when she meets with customers.
In addition, she said, “I love to hop in a car with a dealer salesman for a ride-along to learn their territory and meet with the customers.”
This allows her to hear questions directly from the customer, learn about their business and hear their feedback first-hand. If their issues are technical, she defers to the application specialists.
Maslava said she is always very appreciative when the customers take the time out of their busy day to meet.
Maslava prioritizes attending all customer events in person to establish long-lasting relationships.
“It’s easy to get buried in administrative work, but I try to prioritize personal interaction. Every three years, the dealers get a new rep; my goal is to make an impact — to leave a legacy as being helpful, responsive and present.” Changes Coming
She currently provides sales support for three Caterpillar dealers in the Carolinas, but job rotations last just two to three years before reassignment to a new territory, so Maslava anticipates a move. She said she wouldn’t mind moving to the opposite coast or the Pacific Northwest to understand the industry in that part of the country, but also would gladly take on the international assignment. She lists Canada, Europe or Singapore as desirable locations on her list.
Maslava enjoys the flexibility of the job.
When asked about where she sees herself in the future, she said “Caterpillar is so big; there are a lot of jobs. It’s a global Fortune 100 company. There are infinite possibilities and room to explore career paths.”
One day, she envisions moving into management — maybe becoming a territory manager overseeing a team of sales and tech reps. “I’d like to lead people.” Gains Made
For now, Maslava said her mother is her anchor. She taught her the value of commitment and perseverance.
Both mother and daughter are used to being the only woman in the room. However, there are more women in the room today. Maslava said there are 21 sales representatives on the North American team, eight of whom are women. That adds up to approximately 40 percent.
In the future, she hopes to see more and more women taking on previously male-dominated roles, and she thinks that can happen if women like her continue to pave the way. She regularly attends “Women in Construction Industries” meetings where she connects with others for mentoring and networking opportunities.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to meet more women in the organization and learn more about their personal and professional paths,” she said. They gather to share best practices, listen to guest speakers, discuss their challenges and celebrate each other’s successes.
The construction industry’s future is full of exciting opportunities, Maslava said.
With “women supporting women instead of competing,” she predicts that women will play important roles in implementing changes in response to this evolving industry, and she intends to play her part in advancing the heavy equipment business, the construction industry and her gender’s place in both. CEG
As ConExpo-Con/AGG continues to draw near, Stephen Roy, president, Region North America, at AEM member company Volvo Construction Equipment, discussed his thoughts on the show and the direction of the construction equipment industry.
Roy discussed what attendees and fellow exhibitors can expect from Volvo at ConExpo-Con/AGG 2023, what he looks forward to most about the upcoming edition of the show, and why it’s so important for equipment manufacturers to make their presence known to construction industry professionals in attendance this coming spring in Las Vegas.
Stephen Roy
Volvo Construction Equipment
We’re just a few short months away from ConExpo-Con/AGG, and it’s been almost three years since the construction industry came together in Las Vegas for the show. With that in mind, what are you personally looking forward to most about the 2023 edition?
Roy: For me, it’s really being able to highlight where Volvo is and where we’re at in our journey during a time that has been transformative in our industry. ConExpoCon/AGG offers us a chance to showcase what we have, gather feedback from our customers and engage our industry partners.
To really make a show like ConExpoCon/AGG work, the face-to-face aspect of it is so important. I think that’s why Las Vegas is the perfect venue for it. It attracts so many people, and with all the changes we’re seeing in our industry, I think it’ll be the perfect environment for people to find the latest and greatest innovations, as well as learn what will help their business succeed.
What does it mean for Volvo to be a part of the largest trade show in North America? And along those same lines, what should people expect to see from Volvo this coming year?
Roy: At Volvo we consider ourselves a change agent in this industry. Our theme is actually “Change starts here. Be ready for it.” So, for us at Volvo, we want to be at ConExpoCon/AGG to help illustrate where we see the industry going and how we are preparing our customers to be ready for it.
We’re not alone in this, but some of things we will showcase at the show will really highlight how Volvo is driving a focus on sustainable power and automation, and how we can help our customers be more productive, more efficient and more successful in their efforts to serve their own customers.
We always say our goal is to make customers successful with their customers, so that’s the approach we’re taking. More specifically, we’ll have a mix of existing product, product that’s coming out soon and some forward-looking product that — like I mentioned before — will illustrate where the industry is going. That means a focus on sustainability, using electric machines and other sustainable power. We’ll showcase small compact electric equipment, all the way to larger equipment that has a mix of electric and diesel.
One thing that’s extremely important for us, and an area of focus for Volvo, centers on solutions for our machines. There’s no doubting the value and importance of the machines themselves. However, to maximize productivity and uptime, it takes the right solutions. So, at ConExpo-Con/AGG 2023, we’re going to showcase a lot of telematics platforms, a lot of productivity platforms, as well as machine controls — solutions, to increase productivity and uptime.
You’ve mentioned Volvo will have a lot in store for folks that stop by and visit your booth at the show. We’ve seen industry exhibitions and events continue to evolve, change and even grow over time. In what ways has Volvo responded to
ensure attendees at shows like ConExpoCon/AGG get the most out of their time spent with your organization? Roy: We’re very focused on making events and exhibitions like ConExpoCon/AGG a really valuable experience, so when our attendees are in the booth, they have access to the right information and the right experts who can answer their questions — and we want them to have fun in our booth too. However, we don’t want to forget all those folks who won’t be able to be with us in Las Vegas this coming March. And, while there’s every reason to expect the show to welcome another record-breaking crowd, we’re also aware there are probably just as many people who are interested in what’s taking place in Las Vegas, but they aren’t able to travel there. So, we’re really focused on offering a valuable virtual experience as well. We know for sure that we’ll have a lot of folks from the construction industry at the show in Las Vegas. But there are still plenty of people “The construction equipment who are considering it and making that decision at this point. If you industry is quite diverse. could provide a piece of advice or a thought for them to consider, We’re seeing customers and what would you say? Roy: This show is once every applications today that three years. The technology shifts since the 2020 show are quite signif-maybe we weren’t talking to icant. And I think being there facein the past.” to-face helps secure a true sense of where the industry is going. Additionally, as an OEM, we want feedback from our customers, too. We want to hear what they struggle Stephen Roy with and how can we support them Volvo Construction Equipment as we continue to develop leadingedge machinery, but also solutions that will support their fleet and their job operations. Turning that question on its head a little bit, we know it’s important for attendees to be there, but on the exhibitor side of things, what do you think the value proposition is for those who decide to make such an investment in exhibiting at ConExpo-Con/AGG every three years? Why is it so important for companies to make their presence known at this particular show?
Roy: I think there are a couple of major reasons why. For me, I think it’s a great time to see customers in one place, reconnect with customers and talk about the business at hand, as well as how we can support them. But it’s also for OEMs to reach new customers and new customer segments.
The construction equipment industry is quite diverse. We’re seeing customers and applications today that maybe we weren’t talking to in the past — especially with the introduction of zero-emission, low-noise electric machines — so it’s exciting for us to pursue some of these new and valuable opportunities.
It’s a really exciting time to be in the construction industry, as well as the equipment industry serving construction customers. With that in mind, as you look forward to this show and even beyond, what industry trends are you excited about in the future, and what trends do you think are going to be on display or showcased at ConExpo-Con/AGG 2023?
Roy: First and foremost, I think our customers are looking to make sure they become more efficient, more sustainable, and how they can support their customers. I think that you’ll see that when it comes to electrification, we’ll have discussions around autonomous and teleoperations machines as labor continues to get tight. And we’ll continue to focus on how to improve safety, productivity and uptime for our machines. Those are things customers today say consistently are important and will be more important in the future.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Roy: One thing we’re very excited about is having our Gold Rush stars with us at ConExpo-Con/AGG, and it’s really exiting that we’ll have an electric-powered rallycross car that’s part of the FIA World Rallycross racing organization, right now in Europe, but making its way across the globe soon.
And then, on behalf of my fellow colleagues at Volvo, I just want to say ConExpo-Con/AGG is our time as an industry to show where the construction equipment is going and the changes that are coming, as well as an opportunity for equipment manufacturers who support to the show to be recognized for their efforts in driving transformational change within the construction industry.
For more information, visit www.conexpoconagg.com.
