Liverpool firm that has helped rebuild the city for 50 years – by knocking it down
GTB Demolition was founded by George and Florence Treble in 1967 and one of its earliest jobs was the dismantling the final piece of Liverpool’s historic overhead railway. Tony McDonough reports
Companies often get praised for building things but one firm has been playing a major role in Liverpool’s regeneration for half a century – by knocking things down.
GTB Demolition was founded by George and Florence Treble in 1967 and one of its earliest jobs was the dismantling the final piece of Liverpool’s historic overhead railway.
During 2017 the family-operated business, based in Cotton Street for the past 25 years, celebrated its 50th anniversary and now it enters 2018 investing in new technology to take the business into its next 50 years.
Although George Treble Snr is now retired, the company has been run for the past 17 years by his sons, George, Brian and until recently daughter Ann, then joined in the mid-2000s by grandsons Steven and Lee.
Mr Treble started the business with one simple ethos – to be hands-on and on site early, to set an example to the workforce.It quickly established itself as a leader in the demolition industry in the 1960s.
Taking up the story, Mr Treble said: ““Moving into the 1970s and 80s many projects were undertaken along the Mersey waterfront, helping reshape the famous Liverpool docklands.
“During the early 1990s Liverpool Football Club’s original Kemlyn Road stand roof was demolished – a project that was successfully taken down by hand during a tight timescale to be ready for the start of the new season.
“At the turn of the Millennium, Spillers Flour Mill in Wallasey was taken down and during the late 2000s a major strip-out of the Capital Building, one the North-West’s largest office spaces, was completed.”
The business aims to build on its decades of experience with an eye in the future, creating the next generation of demolition by continually investing in new generations of staff through mentoring and training.
It is currently working on a £32m pound project at Jaguar Land Rover. Beyond core business, the company has always given back to the community, working with a number of charities and local sports clubs.