Motorists passing by the equipment yard at Cosham Plant construction machinery in Hampshire, UK, may notice one excavator standing out from the others. The company painted one of its Hitachi ZX1301LC-5 excavators hot pink in order to support and raise money for Breast Cancer Care, a local breast cancer support charity.
Every time the vehicle is rented, the company makes a donation to breast cancer research. And it invites the renter to throw into the pot as well. The goal is to raise $156,000 over the next four years. After that, the vehicle will be sold and the proceeds will also be donated to Breast Cancer Care.
The idea came from Cosham Plant’s managing director Louis Silk after one of her employees was diagnosed with breast cancer. The worker was able to detect the cancer in time and receive treatment, and her cancer is now in remission.
The excavator has information about breast cancer in its cab for operators to review whenever the vehicle is used.
The project was co-sponsored by Hitachi Construction Machinery UK, Hitachi Capital Business Finance, and Hill Engineering.
Breast cancer is diagnosed in more than 50,000 women and 350 men each year. More than half a million people are living with breast cancer today, but that number is projected to rise to more than 1.2 million by 2030.