One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. And never has a show like Salvage Kings, which returns for its second season on HISTORY on April 19 (10 p.m. ET/PT), proven that more. Before Priestly Demolition Inc. — based about 55 kilometres north of Toronto in King City — takes down a building, the show’s stars, head of salvage Ted Finch and foreman Justin Fortin, go inside and look for hidden treasures. Usually, they have very little time before demolition begins. “Sometimes an hour or two before the machines (start),” said Finch on the phone from Bradford, Ont., with Fortin. “It’s a very fast-paced industry. They close the shop and we’ve got to get in. I’d like to have a lot more time, but we never do,” he added. “The most I’ve ever had would be two days. I can see the beauty in what people call trash.” In the first season of the show, they found everything from an antique vibrator to a 1950s fiberglass boat. The second season was shot during the pandemic with some shutdowns necessary, and a few episodes still being worked on. “You’ve only get two hands and a limited amount of time. Ted walks into a space, and he turns into a hunter,” said Fortin. “And I don’t recognize him. His face changes — it physically does. And he’s on a mission, and he has the shortcuts, and he knows exactly where to look. “I don’t know what I’m doing half the time. I wing it and lie and cheat, and I steal, and I get by,” he added. “Ted’s passion is very deep, and I’m as shallow as a puddle outside. I like what I like, but Ted loves to salvage.”
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Finch and Fortin were also dealing with a newer, bigger salvage yard in Bradford (originally they were in Sutton) and three new team members. But they won’t say what the audience can expect in the new season, preferring to keep it a surprise for the most part. “Just going to northern Ontario and learning about the history and how it formed Canada was a real mind-opener for myself,” said Fortin of a trip they took to Timmins. “Toronto was nothing back then. It blows my mind that the industry up there made Toronto. Because Toronto being the epicentre (now) and 100 years ago, it just wasn’t.” Added Finch: “Yeah, the mines (were making the money). We found some very cool stuff this year. Big stuff, too. I like this year — it’s good. We’re out of town a lot. There’s a lot of Canadian history.”
A new reality show on the History channel featuring Ontario’s Priestly Demolition gives viewers an inside glimpse of a little-known function of the demolition sector, highlighting the work of a salvage crew as it hunts for treasure with the demolition team just a step behind. The firm’s president Ryan Priestly explains that the show, Salvage Kings, represents an opportunity for the firm to show the world, literally, how its crews work with exceptional planning, precision and innovation. “Everybody is a bit star-struck, they are enthusiastic that they are going to be on TV,” said Priestly, who plays a significant on-air role himself. “I think this should be good for the construction industry in Toronto and beyond. It will be good to show that us guys and girls in construction are people too. We all want to go to work in the morning and go home at night and have a little fun along the way so we are showing that on the show as well.” Salvage Kings airs at 10 p.m. Sunday nights on the History channel. The show focuses on four core employees: head of salvage Ted Finch, foreman Justin Fortin, junior salvager Julien Savage and the president, Priestly. Show notes describe Finch as the zealous treasure hunter, a professional in the field with an encyclopedic knowledge of the value of all sorts of salvaged items including steel, copper, oak doors, raised commercial lettering, clocks, audio equipment, old vaults, even dental chairs and barn board — all recovered in the first episode. The goods are then sold out of the company’s storage facility north of Toronto. “A perfect day for me is saving stuff and earning a buck,” Finch says in the pilot. Finch, in the head salvage role, has inherited the position company founder Vic Priestly had. “Ever since he was a kid dad was salvaging things and that has worked its way down through the organization and we are all doing it,” Ryan Priestly said. Priestly can be seen checking on the other three, asking about the value of possible reclaimed items and ensuring the work schedule is adhered to. Sometimes his technical expertise is needed, with touch needed to pull a valuable door off a vault with an excavator and straps, and at other times his love of the demolition craft is on display. “Ryan’s a smasher from way back,” Finch says in episode one as Priestly operates heavy machinery. “He’s like a machine.” Finch answers the property rights question early in the first show. “It’s not complicated. When Priestly secures a contract for demolition, we own everything on the site,” he says. Priestly offered a preview of the series just before the first episode aired Sept. 15 so he was unable to gauge what the response from peers and the general public would be but he already anticipated the firm would enjoy rewards from the exposure — internally and externally. “Overall I think it is going to be great for the company. It will be good for team-building,” said Priestly. “One thing about this series, some workers don’t see what others are doing, they don’t get to meet other people in the company, so it is a nice way for people to get to know each other.” And by showcasing how Priestly goes about its business, it will help recruiting. “We really have a strong focus on buying good equipment for our company and hiring good people and as we keep going in that direction and trying to find ways to stay at the top of our game, this show may be another benefit,” the boss said. Priestly’s biggest take from salvaging? The huge stainless steel industrial tanks found at some jobs. The most unique? A boat in pristine condition, dug up at the old Air Canada Centre site. Making the show is not excessively time consuming, with an hour or two of Priestly’s time required some mornings and afternoons. “It is painless for us I would say,” said the manager. Priestly has been approached before to do a series and turned the offers down but this time they took the leap. “Generally speaking, we are taking a flyer on season one and if it gets picked up and sold around the globe then you can start to see some significant revenue out of it but right now we are just trying season one and seeing how it goes,” he said. Follow Don Wall on Twitter @DonWall_DCN.
Salvage Kings returns full throttle for another season of thrilling demolitions and extraordinary finds by the team at Priestly Demolition. Leading the charge is Head of Salvage Ted Finch and his crew – modern-day treasure hunters who stop at nothing to uncover rare and valuable objects from buildings that are on the verge of demolition. They are pushed to their limits as they scour through demanding demolition sites to ensure no hidden gems are left behind and lost forever. This year, the stakes are high. Company president Ryan Priestly devises an expansion plan for the salvage team that will transform their operation. It’s a gamble, but if successful, the expansion could yield big rewards for the company. The undertaking also means a personnel shake-up for the close-knit crew. Three new members join the team, causing some friction as the old and new guard adapt to each other. Their salvage missions may be high-pressure, but that doesn’t stop Ted and his team from approaching their work with humour and passion as they crisscross through amazing locations to rescue treasured items from destruction. No stone is left unturned as the salvage team scavenges through cities, towns and villages, and into buildings of all types. Every object tells a story – and there’s no telling what the Salvage Kings will find, nor where their incredible discoveries will end up. WATCH ALL EPISODES
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