Erica Wright’s friends say they don’t quite understand what she does for work as the owner and operations manager of Sarasota’s Wright Heavy Haul. Her answer? “I do magic.”

It starts with a headset and a Wi-Fi connection, used to make the many calls and connections that facilitate heavy loading and transportation services across the U.S. and Canada. Think UPS, but instead of small packages being delivered, it’s a Caterpillar D9 tractor with a 13-foot blade or a boom truck that weighs more than 100,000 pounds. Sometimes it’s a tank, World War II artillery or an armored vehicle. In short, Wright says, she transports “anything big and weird.”

The business works at major auction sites, ports and border crossings and beyond. One thing Wright enjoys about the industry is the unique problem-solving involved. One customer wanted an antique truck relocated from a field in Nebraska to California. The challenge? It was an old steam truck that needed 15,000 gallons of boiling water just to start up and move.

Wright got into the heavy haul industry after working for a yacht brokerage. “We’d sell a yacht and have to ship it to the Maldives from a guy’s backyard, and I’d string it together,” she says. She worked for the brokerage from 2011 until she started her own company in 2018.

A Florida native, Wright says that because of the unique circumstances with each project, automation won’t cut it. She offers a niche service and relies on her longtime expertise to oversee big moves. “I know that a given [truck’s] blade only angles at 22 degrees, so it won’t meet Department of Transportation regulations, which would delay transport if you don’t understand dimensions and how things should be loaded,” she says as an example. “I also have a knack for telling how many miles are between two points on a map, and how to move something as affordably as possible.”

The biggest challenge is the stress of making sure everyone is where they should be when they should be. But Wright has roughly 3,000 carriers in her database, many of whom have a personal connection to her. “It gives me a sense of pride,” she says. “I’m a bit of a braggart, and it helps. You have to be confident.”

The industry is dominated by men, but Wright says being a woman hasn’t gotten in the way. “It’s pretty much a level playing field,” she says. “I feel that I have an edge, because I’m a good communicator and problem solver with a smile and a happy heart.”