Her happy place is her family’s sprawling porch, overlooking Plant City land that’s been in the family for three generations. Across the creek lies her sister’s home, next door is her late father’s house and, in between, cows graze lazily under the Florida sun.
Beside her sits her wife of nearly 11 years, Barbie, and in her hand, a warm cup of tea. This is where Erika Sims, chief executive officer of Sims HD and co-owner of Sims Crane & Equipment, comes to decompress—a peaceful pause from her whirlwind life of business, family and philanthropy.
Erika, the eldest of Tampa’s Sims Crane third generation, carries the weight of a family legacy intertwined with cranes and construction. Her journey to leadership, however, is anything but linear. It’s a story of contrasts—wealth and modesty, tradition and independence, struggle and triumph, but it’s unapologetically hers.
Growing Up a Sims
Sims Crane & Equipment is more than a business; it’s a family dynasty. Her story begins long before she was born, in Tennessee with her grandfather’s humble roots.
“He came down here, became an ironworker and helped build the original Sunshine Skyway Bridge,” she says. By 1959, he had purchased his first crane, laying the foundation for a company that would grow to be, at one time, one of the largest in the country.
Erika’s upbringing reflected two contrasting worlds. Her father’s side reveled in wealth with lavish parties, Rolls-Royces and a reputation for larger-than-life personalities. Her mother’s Cuban family, on the other hand, embodied humility and resilience.
“My dad’s family was all about parties and Jack Daniels. Meanwhile, my mom’s Cuban family in West Tampa was modest—my grandmother barely left the house,” Erika says. Her childhood was heavily influenced by her maternal grandmother, as her parents separated before she was one year old. “I was the first girl born in my Cuban family’s next generation.”
Visits to her father’s home, every other weekend, offered a glimpse into the Sims family’s affluence but the disconnect between her two worlds was stark. While her father was often absent, due to work, her Cuban grandmother instilled in her the importance of being present, hard work and humility.
Despite these challenges, Erika thrived in academics and athletics. At private school, in Tampa, she excelled in basketball, with her high school team winning the state championships.
“Basketball was my life—I was a 4.0 student and put everything into the sport,” she says.
Summers were a different story. “We had a tree farm, along [U.S. Highway] 301, and I spent my breaks clipping palm trees and fixing sprinklers. I got stung, sunburned and realized manual labor wasn’t for me—but it taught me the value of hard work.”
Family dynamics were complicated, yet formative. Her father set high expectations for her, as the eldest child.
“He had this aura that could break you. He set high expectations for me, as the eldest, and all of my siblings…though at the time, I didn’t fully understand it,” she says.
In high school, Erika came out as gay, a decision that added layers of complexity to her journey and her relationship with her father.
“While he may not have understood what it felt like to be me, or to be gay, he always loved me and I knew that,” she says. “I knew who I was, from a young age. Even in a conservative school, it never occurred to me that there was something ‘wrong’ with me. “I’ve always been me and loved who I am and that’s what I hope I pass on to my children.”
When her Catholic school reacted negatively to her first girlfriend she was asked to leave, marking a turning point in her life.
A (Reluctant) New Beginning
Erika entered the University of Florida determined to chart her own course, far away from the shadow of her family’s business.
“I went to [the University of] Florida thinking I’d find my own path,” she explains, even if it took her some time to pick her major — industrial organizational psychology. It seemed like a natural fit for someone passionate about improving workplace culture. “It’s all about employee productivity and happiness—things I’d grown up seeing my dad and grandfather value, in the way they treated their employees.”
Like many young adults, Erika grappled with uncertainty. “I changed my major so many times, UF eventually told me, ‘If you change again, we’re going to ask you to leave.’ I just didn’t know what I wanted to do,” she says. Her final decision to major in psychology aligned with her upbringing and her fascination with organizational behavior, but it wasn’t enough to keep her at school.
After five years at UF, Erika left without a degree. “I failed golf,” she admits, with a laugh. “It was an 8 a.m. class and I just couldn’t get up. But, honestly, by that time, I was burned out and needed a break. I’d been working one or two jobs since I was 14, and I needed to reset.”
Coming home to Tampa, she initially had no plans to join the family business. “At that point, I knew that to do anything meaningful with my degree, I needed at least four more years of school and I just wasn’t up for that,” Erika says.
Sims returned to the family’s sprawling property and moved into her grandfather’s house. It wasn’t long before an opportunity at Sims Crane came knocking.
“One day, they came to me and said, ‘Bobby doesn’t want to run safety anymore—he wants to go back to being a truck driver. Do you want to take it on?’” she recalls. “I asked, ‘What does that mean?’ and they told me, ‘You just go to every branch once a month and run a safety meeting.’ It sounded simple enough, so I said yes. Total lies!” she says, laughing.
What began as a seemingly straightforward role turned into a transformative experience.
“We had a 17-page safety manual when I started. By the time I was done, it was 320 pages,” she says.
The role gave her a unique perspective on the company’s operations and allowed her to interact with employees across all levels.
“I loved it because I got to work with everyone in the company and see what we did, from so many different angles. I was always in a supportive role, never adversarial, and that made all the difference in how I built relationships,” she says.
Her entry into the family business wasn’t without challenges. She had to overcome skepticism from employees who assumed her role was handed to her.
“I had to work 10 times harder because I was both a girl and a Sims. I wanted to prove—to them and to myself—that I belonged there,” she says.
As she navigated her early years at Sims, Erika also began to confront personal struggles. “Coming back from UF, I had this assumption that staying out late, drinking and partying was just normal. I didn’t realize how much it was affecting me until my dad sat me down and said, ‘You need to go to rehab.’ At first, I was angry. Everyone knew he himself enjoyed the party lifestyle—so I thought, ‘Who is he to tell me this?’ But in hindsight, it was the best decision I ever made.”
The experience was a turning point, not just in her personal life but in how she approached her role at Sims.
“Getting sober taught me so much about myself and how to deal with challenges. It gave me the tools to face the pressures of the business and the expectations that came with being part of the Sims family.”
The Next Phase of Growth
Over the next several years, Erika’s responsibilities grew and she began to step into leadership roles. She credits her father and grandfather for instilling a deep respect for the company’s employees.
“Growing up, I watched them care deeply about the people who worked for us. Employees were treated like family and that’s something I’ve always tried to carry forward in how I lead,” Erika explains.
Despite initial reluctance, Erika found herself increasingly drawn to the family business. “At first, I thought this was just a temporary stop. But the more I worked, the more I realized how much I loved what we were building. It wasn’t just about cranes or contracts—it was about people, relationships and doing things the right way,” she says.
By the time she transitioned into operations, and later launched Sims HD, Erika had found her stride.
“I finally reached a point where I realized I didn’t have to prove anything to anyone. I earned my place here, not because of my last name, but because of the work I put in,” she says.
These days, Sims Crane generates several hundred million, in revenue. Sims HD, Erika’s division, currently brings in $6 million annually, with a 15% net profit margin. Erika has ambitious goals for Sims HD.
“My goal, in the next 10 to 15 years, is to grow it to somewhere in the $25 million range,” she says.
Erika attributes much of the sales growth to her focus on supporting her team, “I just made sure my salespeople had everything they needed to be successful. Within a couple of years, we had salesmen hitting a million dollars a month in sales.”
Erika described Sims HD as her “100% ownership,” noting that her focus on scalability and independence aligns with her long-term vision for the business. Sims HD, which specializes in heavy haul and rigging, allows her to lead a smaller team (17 employees), compared to Sims Crane’s 700 employees. “I like that it’s small and reminds me of how the family business used to feel, when I was growing up.”
Erika mentioned she might consider selling Sims HD, in a decade, depending on circumstances. “I go back and forth on whether I’ll sell it in 10 years and fully retire… but my focus, for now, is on growing it.”
She also is contemplating how the next generation might engage with the family business.
“If my kids want to work here, and prove themselves, then maybe it stays in the family. But they’d have to earn it,” Erika says. Just like mom.
A Lasting Legacy
As Erika navigates the future of her businesses and her family, she remains steadfast in her principles. “If you do what’s best for the business, you’re ultimately doing what’s best for the family,” she says.
This philosophy guides her as she expands Sims HD, scaling the business with a vision of innovation, while staying true to the family values that defined her upbringing.
Erika’s leadership is a blend of tradition and modernity, balancing the lessons learned from her father and grandfather with her own approach to inclusivity and empowerment. As one of the few women in the male-dominated crane and rigging industry, she has broken barriers while building bridges. Her work with national organizations and industry associations reflects her dedication to shaping a more equitable future for those who follow in her footsteps.
“There’s so much opportunity in this industry and I want to make sure that anyone—regardless of gender or background—feels they have a place here,” she says.
At home, Erika cherishes the quiet moments with her wife and their children, Zoey and Noah. Living on the same land where she spent much of her childhood, she’s come full circle, now creating a legacy for her own family. “This is where I grew up—riding bikes, burying time capsules – digging them up the same day, learning to shoot—and it’s what I want for my kids. But more than that, I want to be present,” she says. ♦
Photos by PamElla Lee
