The Andru group was founded in 1978 by Terry Troughton and began its first mining contract in 1979. The group was based in Pinetown, Kwazulu Natal and included mining, construction, plant hire, and engineering divisions. Terry strove to develop Andru into a well-recognised, reputable company with client service and integrity being the foundation.
In 1997 the various divisions of the group (mining, construction, plant, and engineering) were consolidated under the single umbrella of Andru Mining and the group headquarters moved to Gauteng. In 2001 Terry appointed Rob Elphinstone, Keith Reddy and Doug Troughton to the board and together they grew Andru's operations both in size and in spread across the country. Through Terry's, Rob's, Keith's and Doug's continuing mentorship and guidance they have developed a vibrant new leadership team enabling Andru's future success.
The executive team with Rob Elphinstone as executive chairman, and supported by Doug Troughton consists of Branden Bowen, Anthony Wardlaw, Joe Naicker and Shonel Reddy. Together they are responsible to ensure that Andru's goals are realised and that the company thrives under the vigilant eye of the Andru Mining (Pty) Ltd board. In 2019 Lereko became a shareholder of Andru Mining and this increased the BEE shareholding from 26% to 53.5%. Andru Mining thus became one of South Africa's first black owned opencast contract mining companies and in 2020 received a level 1 BBBEE certificate.
Since the first scrapers were purchased the distinctive Andru blue has made Andru Mining's equipment readily identifiable. Andru employs approximately 1800 staff members many of whom are drawn from the local communities around the mines we service. Andru Mining's success can only be attributed to the hard work and effort of all the employees in the Andru Team. The focus at Andru Mining has always been on identifying and servicing the specific needs of our clients.