Henrik Fredriksson, a keen plant and machinery enthusiast, from Sweden is 20 years old and has faced many challenges in his life.
Henrik was born with a handicap which affected his legs and as such he has been confined to a wheelchair for most of his life. They lived in the countryside and his father worked at the local sawmill where wheeled loaders and excavators were, and indeed still are, used exstensively. Like so many of us it was natural that Henrik would want to follow his father into the industry if at all possible and so after many operations and pain to gain some movement in his legs he went to a college to learn to operate machines.
Henrik at the controls of a Huddig 1060B backhoe loader.
Henrik did very well at the college and gained experience on various items of plant during his time on the course. Some of his favourite machines to operate included a volvo wheeled loader and a Hitachi ZX130 excavator as seen here.
Sadly for Henrik, since passing the course he has been unable to find a company that is prepared to take him on and offer him full time employment. An all to common scenario of predjudice that disabled people confront on a daily basis.
Here at the Digger blog we wish Henrik all the very best with his quest to find a job operating the machines he loves and I hope to report on what happens in the future.
