When Andrew Mirkin talks about the roots of his company, Associated Building Wreckers, which he owns with his father, Zane Mirkin, he doesn't start with excavators, high-reach booms or hydraulic processors. He starts with hands.

The business traces back to 1933, when Mirkin's great-grandfather — an immigrant who settled in the Springfield, Mass., area — helped launch what began as a salvage-driven wrecking operation. In the Depression-era economy, there wasn't much "waste" in demolition. Crews dismantled buildings by hand and reclaimed anything that could be sold again: flooring, lumber, fixtures and, as Mirkin put it, even nails. The company's early work was largely residential, with some commercial projects mixed in, and the model wasn't simply "tear it down." Often, they bought structures, stripped value from the materials and, when property was involved, flipped the land if it made sense.

That salvage-first DNA shaped how the company thinks today, even as the work has evolved far beyond hand teardown. "Recycling everything" isn't a new slogan to this team — it's how earlier generations survived.

As the company moved from one generation to the next, the tools changed. Mirkin noted that in the earliest days there were no excavators; demolition relied on clamshell cranes, trucks and, later, dozers as that iron became available.

The second major shift came from people and pressure: Mirkin's grandfather entered the business at just 16, after Mirkin's great-grandfather suffered an early heart attack. He ran work, put himself through night school and developed the kind of estimating instincts that only come from dismantling buildings piece by piece. Mirkin credited him as a key influence — a guy who could study a structure and "see" quantities because he'd learned the hard way what was inside the walls.

Then, in the mid-1980s, the industry changed again.

Around 1986, asbestos regulation and awareness transformed demolition across the Northeast. For a demolition contractor, asbestos wasn't an occasional issue — it was everywhere. Associated Building Wreckers moved into asbestos abatement because it was a natural extension of the work and unavoidable if you wanted to stay competitive. What many initially predicted would be a short-lived boom became a permanent core capability, and it helped the company concentrate its geographic footprint closer to home. Rather than traveling the entire East Coast, the team increasingly focused on Massachusetts and Connecticut — still its primary footprint today — while remaining willing to travel for larger client-driven opportunities.

In the 1990s, another pivot arrived: concrete crushing and recycling. Disposal options tightened, and it became harder (and more expensive) to send brick and concrete away. The company's answer was to invest in recycling capacity and permitted sites, building the ability to crush and process material rather than treat it as a pure disposal problem. Today, the company can crush at its yards and, when needed, bring portable setups on site for customers.

That isn't just an environmental story — it's an economics story. Aggregates like gravel and fill have become significantly more expensive over the past several years. When demolition material can be processed into compactible fill or backfill that meets spec, it can reduce import needs and lower the customer's total project cost.

Mirkin and his leadership team — including David Girardini, operations manager, and Fred Vanderhoof, vice president — described a company that now operates at scale, with approximately 75 employees across its businesses and an extensive equipment fleet. Zane Mirken continues to be a valuable asset to the company with his vast experience over the years in demolition. He also is extremely proud of the company's employees and ties within the communities the business serves.

On the demolition side, the fleet includes excavators ranging from standard units to specialty machines like high-reach and straight-boom configurations. Attachments span shears, crushers, hammers, grapples, processors and multiprocessor setups that can switch from shear to concrete processing to cracking quickly. Support equipment fills in the gaps: skid steers, lifts, tractors, trailers, loaders, crushing and screening spreads and other jobsite essentials.

The company's workload is equally broad — residential, commercial and industrial demolition — and it's rarely "one job at a time." The company commonly manages anywhere from five to 10 jobs in a day, and the work can range from classic building removal to interior gutting, selective demolition, recycling and site logistics.

Recent projects include:

• A sizable teardown in Burlington, Vt., involving a well-known church with substantial copper roofing and systems.

• Landmark demolition in downtown Springfield, including the former Steigers department store — a seven-story, wood-frame structure.

• Large mill work, including Avery Dennison-related facilities.

• A major Springfield project tied to a new Tesla dealership where demolition ran approximately 20 ft. below grade — heavy concrete, big tonnage and a need for large excavators and processors to chew through it.

The company is preparing for a major project in Monson, Mass., slated to start mid-to-late March 2026: a 12-building scope that includes total demolition, abatement and underground walkable tunnels with piping that must be addressed and removed. Two buildings are expected to remain and be rehabilitated, while the rest comes down — a blended scope that demands careful sequencing.

For Mirkin's team, the equipment conversation isn't theoretical. It starts with job conditions and labor math.

Leadership described a more deliberate "boots on the ground" approach to evaluating a job site: walk it, understand constraints, then decide where equipment can replace labor safely and efficiently — including niche tools, compact solutions and, increasingly, low- or zero-emissions equipment where the site demands it.

Electric machines, the company said, are gaining traction year by year, but they're still often in the "rent-first" category. Battery life and the realities of cost-of-ownership are still factors, especially for specialized equipment that might only see short seasonal utilization.

That rental-first mindset fits the company's broader rule of thumb: if a specialty machine will run approximately two months a year, it might be worth buying; if it's less than that, renting often makes more sense.

That's where Able Tool & Equipment comes in.

Associated Building Wreckers positions Able as a true problem-solving partner — a company that not only has equipment or can source it, but also shows up fast, supports the field and helps the contractor test new approaches, the contractor said.

How did it start? The group traced the connection back to local relationships and introductions— around the time Able was establishing its presence in the market. Early interactions were rooted in concrete and cutting work: saw cutting, drilling and the kinds of day-to-day tools and consumables contractors either rent or buy as they build capability in-house.

From there, the relationship broadened. The contractor noted purchases of smaller "own-it" items (like walk-behind compactors/plate compactors and saw-related gear, including blades and service), while leaning on Able for the specialty rentals that don't justify ownership.

The strongest endorsement, though, was about response time and reliability.

Mirkin's team cited examples where a rented electric mini-excavator developed an issue (a regeneration problem), and Able swapped in another machine quickly — "within an hour," the company said and also emphasized that Able personnel routinely show up on active sites to keep equipment working, with outside sales representative Erick Poirier repeatedly visiting jobs to support the crew when questions or hiccups arise.

In an industry where downtime burns money by the minute, the contractor's message was simple: Able acts like urgency is part of the rental agreement.

That partnership is on full display at the company's recent project at Holyoke Mall, where a former two-story Sears building is being transformed for a new tenant — Dick's Sporting Goods.

The scope of the project includes:

• A two-story slab-on-grade steel and concrete structure totaling approximately 130,000 sq. ft.

• Interior gutting and removal of finishes back to CMU walls and structural decks in the portion of the building that remains.

• Demolition of the first section of the building with the first 70 ft. of the structure being removed.

• Removal of major interior elements including escalators and elevators.

• Limited asbestos abatement (reported as minimal on this job).

• Turnover to the owner for new construction once demolition and cleanup are complete.

Like many interior rehab demolitions, a traditional approach would involve multiple workers in lifts with saws, cutting overhead systems down in sections, followed by additional equipment and labor to handle debris on the ground.

Instead, the team brought in a specialized rental package from Able Tool & Equipment: a compact excavator setup designed to work inside the building and attack overhead MEP systems — ductwork, electrical, plumbing and sprinkler lines — once ceilings were dropped and the "heart and soul" of the building was exposed.

The featured machine/attachment combination on site included:

• A Wacker Neuson ET65 compact excavator with two-piece boom, configured with additional hydraulic capability to power a rotating attachment (described as a third-circuit setup for rotation).

• A DARDA shear/crusher attachment with interchangeable heads and a pressure-boosting concept that allows high power on smaller carriers.

In practical terms, that meant one operator could cut, grab and drop overhead systems more efficiently than a lift-and-saw plan — reducing labor exposure at height while accelerating production. The team framed it as a double win: fewer people in harm's way and fewer "touches" on material (cut it, drop it, handle it once — instead of cut it, drop it, re-rig it, re-handle it). Once the mechanicals were down, Able Tool exchanged the steel cutters for concrete crushers and Associated Building Wreckers was quickly back to work at the site, demolishing the large elevator shaft. It was quick and clean work, especially considering the contractor did it all with a 6-ton mini-excavator.

The crew also pointed out why this exact setup is unlikely to be a purchase for them: small shear work inside buildings doesn't come up often enough. The company owns large shears for exterior demolition, but interior rehab scopes like this are a "rent the niche tool" scenario — the exact lane where Able's fleet and support matter.

Able's owner Derek Bauer also shared why he invested in these kinds of compact-yet-powerful solutions: the goal is to reduce labor demand and offer contractors alternatives in situations where a remote-controlled machine might be overkill, too slow for production, or simply more expensive than necessary for the task. The vision is to give contractors a "right-sized" option: put a skilled operator in an excavator seat with a specialized attachment and get more done, faster, in more places — including tight access scenarios where machines must squeeze through doorways. The end result was a safer, more efficient and more profitable project.

Beyond the Holyoke Mall package, Associated Building Wreckers highlighted other rentals and "don't-own-this" categories that it leans on Able for including:

• Electric mini-excavators and battery-powered loaders (especially for sensitive sites or client-driven zero-emission requirements).

• Ride-on floor scrapers for tile, carpet and flooring removal (where battery replacement economics make ownership unattractive). Abel Tool does provide these.

• Tracked carriers/dumpers, large and small, for access-challenged, off-road work.

• Specialty compact or interior-focused equipment that might only be needed a few days at a time.

The common thread is the company's utilization rule: if it won't run enough to justify ownership and maintenance, it would rather rent from a supplier that can support the field immediately — and use those rentals as a way to test ideas before committing capital.

From hand salvage in the 1930s to interior excavator-mounted shears in 2026, the methods have changed — but the company's fundamentals haven't.

Associated Building Wreckers still makes its living by thinking ahead of the structure: what's inside it, how it comes apart, where value can be reclaimed and how to get the work done safely with the fewest wasted steps. It credits its people first — a team that adapts, solves problems and stays curious — and it's selective about partners who match that mindset.

As the company heads toward major work like the 12-building Monson project in March 2026 — with tunnels, abatement, demolition and rehab all in one scope — that combination of experience, fleet strength and "right-now" rental support will likely remain a competitive edge. CEG

(All photos courtesy of Associated Building Wreckers and Able Tool & Equipment.)