Patricia Dawes, Task Forklifts SA - Australia

Industry Profile
- 22 Mar 2007 ( #302 ) - ADELAIDE, South Australia, Australia
2 min read
Patricia Dawes
Patricia Dawes
Patricia Dawes, Australian forklift manufacturer and distributor Task Australia's first female salesperson, has just moved from Sydney to Adelaide. She may be South Australia's only female materials handling salesperson.

But Task's South Australia area manager is undaunted by that. She doesn't think her gender is a disadvantage in the forklift industry.

"Yes, it is male dominated, but I would recommend this industry to other women.

"There are great opportunities for women in the sales and service sectors. It's a very close-knit industry that can be supportive and rewarding."
Dawes has not observed differences between the working styles of men and women in her five years in the industry.

She said differences came down to "personality, dedication and ambition", not gender.

Her role involves maintaining relationships with existing customers and expanding the customer base.

Dawes, 28, began her career as a sales co-ordinator for a Sydney forklift retailer. In her sales position, she picked up valuable experience in service and marketing. She credits her first job for broadening her industry knowledge.

"I'm lucky to work as part of a national team of area managers who have made me feel welcome and treated me as an equal from day one.

"I have received endless support and motivation. At the same time, the same expectations were placed on me."

Dawes found it "easy" to balance her job and her personal life.
"[Work-life balance] means being able to enjoy and dedicate time to your family, interests and hobbies and have a successful career.

"My husband and I just moved here from Sydney so most of our time is spent settling into and exploring Adelaide," she said.

Dawes is an animal lover, volunteering once a fortnight at the RSPCA Lonsdale shelter. She takes her Great Dane along when she goes fishing and camping with her husband, who has just completed 10 years of service with the Australian Army.

Dawes enjoys keeping up to date with the Australian market through Forkliftaction.com's Australasian news section.
Getting to know Allan Leibowitz
Getting to know Allan Leibowitz 12 Nov 2020 - 4 min read
Getting to know Elisabeth Ausimour
Getting to know Elisabeth Ausimour 20 Feb 2020 - Ancenis, France - 2 min read
Interview highlights TVH plans
Interview highlights TVH plans 16 Jan 2020 - Waregem, Belgium - 2 min read
Do you have materials handling news? Submit your news here

It’s the year 2000. You’re in front of a boxy beige desktop waiting for the screeching ramblings of your dial-up to reach its finale. You go to Yahoo!, MSN, or maybe AOL, and start the mind-numbing process of finding your very specific needle in the digital haystack. And with web pages loading one image at a time, patience isn’t just a virtue – it’s a requirement!

As clumsy as this early iteration seems now, this technology was the great enabler that allowed Forkliftaction to connect to the industry across the globe.  

To everyone who has connected with Forkliftaction in the past 25 years, thank you for your contribution to our success! We feel deeply touched by your words of encouragement.

What has Forkliftaction meant to you? Drop us a line.

Words of support …

The cooperation with Forkliftaction has been exceptional. It's always a pleasure to work with specialists who know the inside out of the industry

Ane Miren Elorza, Communications Specialist

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

It’s the year 2000. You’re in front of a boxy beige desktop waiting for the screeching ramblings of your dial-up to reach its finale. You go to Yahoo!, MSN, or maybe AOL, and start the mind-numbing process of finding your very specific needle in the digital haystack. And with web pages loading one image at a time, patience isn’t just a virtue – it’s a requirement!

As clumsy as this early iteration seems now, this technology was the great enabler that allowed Forkliftaction to connect to the industry across the globe.  

To everyone who has connected with Forkliftaction in the past 25 years, thank you for your contribution to our success! We feel deeply touched by your words of encouragement.

What has Forkliftaction meant to you? Drop us a line.

PREMIUM business

Hyster
Hyster is a world-leading provider of forklift trucks and services in the materials handling industry.

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

Inside The News
This week Forkliftaction News is celebrating its 25th anniversary! A wonderful achievement given we launched at a time when just 6% of the world’s population were internet users, according to Internet World Stats . Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing stories about our history and rolling out more celebrations, so keep an eye out... Continue reading

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

It’s the year 2000. You’re in front of a boxy beige desktop waiting for the screeching ramblings of your dial-up to reach its finale. You go to Yahoo!, MSN, or maybe AOL, and start the mind-numbing process of finding your very specific needle in the digital haystack. And with web pages loading one image at a time, patience isn’t just a virtue – it’s a requirement!

As clumsy as this early iteration seems now, this technology was the great enabler that allowed Forkliftaction to connect to the industry across the globe.  

To everyone who has connected with Forkliftaction in the past 25 years, thank you for your contribution to our success! We feel deeply touched by your words of encouragement.

What has Forkliftaction meant to you? Drop us a line.