MILLINGTON — Ingrid Hill never found a full-time job after getting laid off last year, but she did find a dump truck.

Hill has 22 years of experience in the construction industry, most recently working for Knife River Corp., but cutbacks last year caused her to reconsider her career.

This summer, she took courses at Southwestern Oregon Community College — where she was the student of the month in August — with the goal of becoming a medical office administrator.

Her son inspired her to scrap those plans.

“He told me ‘Mom, if you want something to happen, you’re going to have to make it happen,’” Hill recalled.

She decided to start her own business.

Enter the 1983 Kenworth.

The red 56,000 pound dumper was placed on an auction block in Olympia, Wash., and Hill’s bid for an undisclosed sum was the exact same amount she was approved for in credit card loans the day prior.

Not only did her bid match what she could pay in plastic, the truck arrived to the auction on her birthday — all signs pointing to her destiny as a dump truck driver, she said.

“I think it’s a miracle,” Hill said.

But with an economy that has put a choke hold on the construction industry, lining up work may prove difficult.

“It’s a tough time right now,” said Christie Meacham, regional coordinator with the Oregon Department of Transportation Office of Civil Rights. “Where you used to have four bidders, now you have 50. The competition is really high.”

But Hill may have an advantage.

When awarding bids to contractors, ODOT and other government agencies attempt to meet a certain quota of women and minority business owners for projects. State and federal certifications are available for small business owners and minority entrepreneurs. Once certified, contractors can be eligible to bid on public projects, Meacham explained.

Hill’s business, for example, could qualify for a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise certificate, which is given to women and minorities who own at least a 51 percent share of the business. In Hill’s case, she is the sole proprietor of R & I Trucking LLC.

“That certificate would give her a leg up,” Meacham said.

She also could be called upon for emergency services, such as rock slides and debris removal throughout the year, said ODOT spokesman Jared Castle.

Hill is looking into the certification process and hopes to be in a position to place bids in spring when the state begins to roll out construction projects.

In the meantime, she is working part-time for RP & T Trucking LLC. in Coos Bay, while doing odd jobs with her truck, which can also be converted into a fifth-wheel for long-hauls.

“I think it’s something she’s always wanted to do,” said RP & T owner Rod Schweitz. “I think she’ll do well. She’s got good business sense.”

Hill is banking on her decades of industry experience and the numerous relationships she has cultivated throughout her career to bolster her business.

Those attributes go a long way in the construction industry, said Steve Wenbourne, of Wenbourne & Sons Inc. His construction company occasionally contracts with excavation companies, which typically have their own dump trucks. He said there is some room in the market for independent dump truck drivers.

As far as Hill is concerned, things have too neatly fallen into place for her business venture to be a fluke. 

“I was thinking of putting ‘Truckin’ by Faith’ on the front,” Hill said, pointing to the truck’s front end.