8,000 Attend Fifth “Meet the Machines”

Nearly 8,000 adults and kids were on hand to "Meet the Machines" at Budrovich Excavating & Contracting Headquarters on April 25, 2009.  The event was the 5th annual for the St. Louis construction community.  This year’s event saw many local partners add to the excitement of the event.  McCarthy Building Companies, MC Industrial, and Guarantee Electrical all joined the event as primary partners. 

The event was held at Budrovich’s headquarters, which is in an old quarry in south St. Louis County.  The day began at 10am and 1500 hard hats were distributed by 12:00pm.  Each child also received an event site map, developed by Bax Engineering, as well as a goodie bag upon entry to the event.  At the entrance the kids were treated to a five-foot-tall dancing bass fish dangling from a 90 ton crane over a lake.

Attendees also experienced many different themed stations involving some aspect of construction or just all around fun.  Stations included, “Rock City” where the young constructors were able to play Guitar Hero and Wii games.  Additionally they could decorate their hard hats at Sticker City hosted by the Magic House.  There were multitudes of equipment in “The Boneyard” for the young constructors to climb into the seat and imagine themselves working on a construction site.  The equipment was provided by Luby Equipment Co.. 

Children 3-5 years old had a chance to “dig for gold” in a giant sandbox while sitting on “CAT kids” diggers.  At the “Picture This!” station kids enjoyed an opportunity to have their photo taken in a CASE mini excavator or get their photo taken with Izzy the Grizzlie from the Gateway Grizzlies.  The highlight for many kids on the day was the “Basket Bullseye” station where they had the opportunity to ride in a 125’ man-lift and win a Gift Card by dropping Nerf football into a bullseye the size of a 5 gallon bucket!  The prize was donated through Best Buy.  They could enter trivia contests, participate in “Cosmic Bowling”, view the Hansen’s Tree Service Monster Truck and Manitowoc OCC Chopper, autograph a dozer blade painted in a “Superheroes” theme, climb up to see the cockpit of some of the largest mobile hydraulic cranes in Missouri, check out Budrovich’s new Manitowoc 2250 crawler crane, go for a 60’ ride in an aerial lift provided by Midwest Aerials, and much more. 


According to A.J. Ford, vice president of marketing for Budrovich, “After five years of hosting this event, I cannot believe the excitement and interest it generates, yearly.  We started this event five years ago as a way to introduce young kids to the heavy side of the equipment industry mostly as a grassroots campaign with the construction industry. 

"This event has generated more interest and excitement than we ever would have imagined.  We have people coming from as far away as Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa and Kentucky to attend the event.  With the help of all of our event partners and volunteers, I believe we are accomplishing something unparalleled in the construction industry.” 

Alan Connor, father of two young boys said, “This event is the rock star of kids events in St. Louis.  My boys are asking if they can go back today!”  Rick Oertli with Guarantee Electrical Company added, "Guarantee was delighted to be involved in this year's event.  It was a wonderful experience for our employees and their family members who attended and/or volunteered. Meet the Machines is a great way to expose the community at large to our industry."


The Budrovich Companies specialize in large mobile hydraulic, rough terrain and crawler crane rental, site utility excavation, mass & finish grading, and residential, commercial and industrial land development. 

Event Partners included, McCarthy Building Companies, MC Industrial, Guarantee Electrical, Luby Equipment, Midwest Aerials, Schnucks Stores, Kirby Smith, Manitowoc Cranes, JD Kutter Insurance, Travlers, Amerisure, Bax Engineering, Pona Trucking, Henry Trucking, Bussen Quarries, Best Buy, The Magic House, Sign-A-Rama, St. Louis County Police, Mehlville Fire Protection District.

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