Priestly Demolition & Epiroc – Utilizing the right tools to drive innovation

Priestly Demolition Inc. provides demolition, excavation, remediation, hazardous material abatement, and salvage services to the commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors of the construction industry in Canada and the United States. With a focus on high standards and quality workmanship, Priestly’s innovative solutions and experience have cemented the organization as a leading demolition contractor in the industry.

We sat down with Ryan Priestly, President, to discuss their goals for the future and how they have utilized Epiroc’s line of Hydraulic Attachment Tools to boost productivity on site.

 

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RP: Well, my father Vic Priestly founded a company called Vic Priestly Contracting in 1971 and in 1993 he started a demolition company, which he named Priestly Demolition. It was around that time we joined the union and started the new company. From there, it’s been onwards and upwards. In 2004, we did a massive project at the Pearson Airport terminal, and that put us on a trajectory that’s turned out to be a pretty crazy ride.

 

 

RP: Our mission has always been to be Canada’s most trusted demolition contractor and innovator leading the change to a more sustainable tomorrow. For us, the main values we hold are safety, honesty, family and innovation.

We still consider ourselves a family business. Obviously, we’re at a point now where the company is getting bigger and bigger, but you know, we aim to have it so when we come to work every day, we feel and act like one family. We really try to keep that going and feel it’s a vital part of our culture – that’s something that will probably never change.

Innovation is important and can be seen as a big word, but it doesn’t always need to be, sometimes you can just look at something a different way and do something a little bit different and it can turn out better.

 

 

RP: We’ve had a lot of Epiroc attachments and a lot of Epiroc hammers over the years. We have one that goes on a few of our different OEM machines, so it’s a big range, but we use them throughout the line. We have over 100 excavators, and I would guess that we have roughly 75 Epiroc Hydraulic Tools. We’ve really transitioned our company to have a lot of OilQuick quick attach systems, which allows you to use the right tool for the job and go after a lot of work that pertains to hydraulic breaking or hydraulic demolition with a primary crusher.

We also have quite a few of Epiroc’s Combi Cutter (CC) models. They’ve been a good tool for us, we use them on our high range 20 to 50-tonne excavators (and one for our 60-tonne excavator too).

On the CC model lineup, the team has always raved about the fact that it’s a primary crusher, but it also has a long blade in the mouth of the tool and it’s been very strong. It’s been able to crush as much or more than a comparative model. On the hammer side- they’ve just been over-the-top reliable, and we can’t have tools breaking down in the middle of the night when we’re on a job, so we have a lot of the Epiroc tools on the 400-series highways around here.

 

 

RP: Creighton has grown with Priestly to a certain degree (or vice versa), you know, we started off with one tool and now we’re buying tools on a regular basis from Creighton. The support has been there not only on the sales side, but on the service side as well. They’ve always been good with having parts in stock – Creighton has definitely not let us down that way.

 

 

RP: I think there is a lot of value added to keep with the same brand as much as possible and we’ve made the decision on the Epiroc tools. The only time we wouldn’t buy Epiroc would be if there was an availability issue, but it seems like in the last few years it doesn’t matter who you are out there, there can be a supply chain issue. We’ve always used Epiroc as a primary supplier of our hammers and I think that will be the way forward. We’ve had a lot of good luck with the CC lineup as well and we do have a couple rock cutters, but we just don’t use them as much as the CCs and the hammers.

 

Epiroc is a vital part of a sustainable society and a global productivity partner for mining and infrastructure customers. With ground-breaking technology, Epiroc develops and provides innovative and safe equipment, such as drill rigs, rock excavation and construction equipment and tools for surface and underground applications. The company also offers world-class service and other aftermarket support as well as solutions for automation, digitalization and electrification. Epiroc is based in Stockholm, Sweden, had revenues of SEK 50 billion in 2022, and has around 17 000 passionate employees supporting and collaborating with customers in around 150 countries. Learn more at www.epirocgroup.com.

Epiroc’s Tools & Attachments division develops, manufactures and markets tools for rock drilling, exploration drilling and ground support, as well as hydraulic attachment tools. The products are used for rock excavation, mining, exploration, construction, demolition and recycling. The division also provides related service. It has production facilities on five continents, including major facilities in Sweden and Germany. Please see www.epiroc.com for product offerings