03/21/2024

Excelling at Austin Powder

Roberta Yates and Cassidy Reed have different roles in different places, but the same drive keeps them both excelling Austin.

This week, as part of our efforts to recognize the many contributions of women to the commercial explosives industry during Women's History Month, IME was able to catch up with Cassidy Reed, a blaster-in-training with Austin Powder, having been with the company for two and a half years and works in Orillia Ontario, Canada. Cassidy was also featured in the A Day in the Life of an Austin Powder Blaster video.

We were also able to hear from Roberta Yates, a 40-year veteran of Austin Powder who is responsible for safely setting off any quality control shots at the company’s Red Diamond facility.

What made you interested in the commercial explosives industry?

CR: I became interested in the commercial explosives industry because of my father. He’s been with the Austin Powder Company for roughly 13 years now I believe and is currently a location manager. As a kid, I’d hear about the stories of work he’d bring home and was intrigued by them. He’s always been the person I’ve looked up to the most in life so when my site needed some help as a laborer, I took a chance to see what this industry was like for myself.

RY: For me, it was close to home and I had family who worked at the plant. 

What do you enjoy about working in the commercial explosives industry?

RY:  The people and it’s very interesting. I never get tired of working at Austin Powder.

CR: I enjoy various aspects of the explosives industry such as being able to work outside with the amazing crew that I’m happy to be a part of; as well as the constant learning that is involved, as the industry adapts and creates new technologies and techniques to get the job done safely.

Currently, I’m taking on a new role as a blaster-in-training which I have been enjoying a lot. I’m getting to see a new side of the industry and learn from experienced and capable blasters.

What advice would you give you women who are considering a career in commercial explosives?

CR: I would tell any woman who is considering a career in the commercial explosives industry to just go for it. If you have a passion for it, it’s worth giving your best shot at. You never know what could happen. Is it a male-dominated industry? Yes. But it’s always going to be if women let that be what holds them back from exploring their interests in this industry.

RY: Learn everything you can.  Safety first.

What are some of the things your company has done to support women in the workplace?

RY: The company is all-inclusive.  You have opportunities to work in various areas of the plant.

CR: My company has been very good to me since I started in a way that maybe to some, it doesn’t seem like they are “doing” anything, but it means a lot to me. I’m treated like any other worker they have. I’m not treated differently because I’m a woman, which to be honest was something I was worried about when I started. I didn’t want to be singled out or have the people I work with mad because I was treated differently than them. Which is something that Austin Powder has been very good about.