Golden year for 777 Group

2014 sees UK contractor 777 Group celebrate 50 years in the demolition industry. The company was founded by John Pierce in 1964, with son Michael joining a few years later and subsequently buying it from his father in 1981. Michael said of this period: ““When I bought the business it consisted of just two machines and one lorry. I set about expanding it, bringing new people in to work for me and building up a fleet of machinery. I focussed on making sure the company always delivered on its promises by keeping our word and completing jobs to the highest of standards. To this day, with over 40 machines and employing 90 staff, this ethos still remains an integral part of our success.”

777 was one of the first UK contractors to invest in ultra high reach excavators when it acquired a 50 m (165 ft) unit based on a Hitachi EX1200 provided by Kocurek in 2003, which was joined by a second similar machine in 2007.

As is frequently the case today, the company’s operations have expanded to include services that are complimentary to its initial demolition role, including state of the art recycling capabilities at its HQ in Croydon. Michael said: “We originally started processing our own demolition waste at the site but soon developed a market taking other contractors’ waste. Such is the success of the facility that six years ago we invested several million pounds in a Vecoplan-sourced processing plant which gives us the capability to turn incoming material in to refuse derived fuel.”