A chance to ‘crush, dig, and lift like a pro’
If you’ve ever wanted to operate a real excavator, bulldozer, or other massive machines, here’s your chance.
A unique heavy equipment adventure experience officially opens to the public on Saturday in North Bay. MASHinery is located at 5235 Highway 11 North.
“There is a similar facility in Las Vegas,” says Ken Sim, Founder and Chief Machine Operator of MASHinery. “We stumbled across it one day on vacation and I thought it would be great to bring it to Canada. We did a bit of research and there’s none of these in Canada, and now only three in North America.”
He says they offer experiences for all age groups.
“Many people have watched excavators their entire lives and wondered what it would feel like to run one. We wanted to turn that curiosity into an experience anyone can enjoy,” says Sim. “Whether you’re eight or eighty, there’s something incredibly rewarding about climbing into the operator’s seat and discovering just how much fun these incredible machines can be.”
He adds the lowest price point is for kids running the mini-excavators and digging for ‘dinosaur’ bones.
“That’s $50,” says Sim. “Up to the main event which is about $1,000 where you get to smash a car. We give you a full size car, you get a can of paint and you can put whatever name you want on there; wife, girlfriend, ex-employer, whatever you want and get to smash the car for about 45 minutes.”
Officials say the attraction introduces a new tourism offering to Northern Ontario, creating local jobs, and attracting visitors to North Bay, while offering safe and structured experiences led by a team of certified Machine Coaches.
Sim says they’re also hearing it’ll spark interest in the skilled trades.
“We’ve heard that comment from some of our suppliers that it’s great to see this because a lot of people are getting into computers and business, so it’s nice to get someone into a dozer and excited about the industry. This industry is not going away for a long time,” he says.
Sim says about five or six bookings were already made for Saturday’s opening, with plenty of interest and comments made online.
From family outings and birthday celebrations to corporate team-building events and bucket-list adventures, you can learn more at MASHinery.ca.
Richard Coffinhttps://www.mynorthbaynow.com/Richard Coffin has been a reporter and news anchor on the radio in North Bay for over 25 years. From premiers to people in the neighbourhood, he enjoys connecting with newsmakers and writing stories that matter to area listeners on a variety of topics including healthcare, education, politics, sports and more.
