Records of Scott Lithgow Ltd, shipbuilders, Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland

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Dates of Creation
Name of Creator
Physical Description

Scope and Content

Board papers 1968-1988
Directors' reports and accounts 1969-1988
Directors' correspondence files 1968-1988
Company secretary's files 1967-1988
Financial records 1966-1987
MOD department files 1979-1987
Technical department files 1975-1985
Planning department files 1969-1985
Estimating department files 1960s-1980s (unlisted)
Cost books 1960s-1980s (unlisted)
Plant and property 1969-1988
Personnel and industrial relations 1966-1987
Retirement and death benefit scheme files 1971-1981
Marketing and public relations papers c.1970-1987
Merger files 1951-1975 (for material relating to 1969 companies see individual company records)
Cochin Shipyard files 1973-1981
Ships papers 1960s-1980s, (unlisted)
Technical - general and machinery 1960s-1980s (unlisted)
British Shipping Research Association reports 1970-1983
Records and published material received from, and relating to, British Shipbuilders 1977-1987
Records and published material received from, and relating to, Trafalgar House plc 1983-1992

Administrative / Biographical History

Established on 1 January 1970 , Scott Lithgow Ltd was the product of an amalgamation of the business interests of Scotts' Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd , Greenock, Inverclyde , Scotland established in 1711 and Lithgows Ltd , Port Glasgow , Scotland, established in 1874. The merger was established as a direct result of the Geddes Committee of Enquiry into the Shipbuilding Industry (1966) on a 60/40 share basis with Scotts' having control of the larger portion.

Only the shipbuilding and engineering business of the two companies was merged and a number of other companies were established to operate their interests:

The Scott Lithgow Training Centre , formed in 1968, also became part of the group. The (1969) set of companies emerged as the operating interests of Scott Lithgow Ltd .

In 1971, Newark Ferguson Ltd was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of Ferguson Bros (Port Glasgow) Ltd to act as an agent for the engineering industry.

On 30 April 1973, the company acquired Cowal Engineering Co Ltd which had two wholly owned subsidiaries, Greenock Engineering Co Ltd and Inchgreen Engineering Co Ltd . Inchgreen Engineering Co Ltd changed its name in December 1976 to Scott Lithgow (Offshore) Ltd to become the outlet for the company's offshore work.

In June 1974, Ardgowan Shipping Co Ltd and Blackhall Shipping Co Ltd were formed. Neither company traded and both were subsequently sold to the Furness Withy Group as part of the financial arrangement for the sale of two ships.

In 1975 Newark Ferguson Ltd was sold by Ferguson Bros (Port Glasgow) Ltd to Scott Lithgow Ltd . This followed the transfer of the Newark stern gland business, the development of propeller shaft seals, to Cowal Engineering Co Ltd .

Scott Lithgow Ltd became part of the nationalised British Shipbuilders Corporation in 1977. The Corporation was initially organised into four industrial sectors but by 1980 this had been rearranged to create five trading divisions - merchant shipbuilding, warship building, engineering, ship repair and an off-shore division. Scott Lithgow Ltd became part of the off-shore division.

In April 1981, following a steady contraction of the shipbuilding and offshore construction industry, British Shipbuilders embarked on a re-organisation programme. As part of this programme, the Scott Lithgow board decided to dissolve its individual operating companies and have all future operations dealt with through one company, i.e. Scott Lithgow Ltd . Shipbuilding operations at Cartsdyke Shipyard and Bowling ceased and Cowal Engineering closed. The Caledonia Joinery transferred to Lithgows and the Caledonia Fabrications transferred to the Scotts Engineering Company and Ferguson Bros (Port Glasgow) Ltd becoming a separate profit centre within British Shipbuilders.

In 1984, as part of the Government's privatisation plan, Scott Lithgow Ltd was sold to Trafalgar House plc , to become a non-trading branch of that company's off-shore engineering division. The Port Glasgow yard was placed on a care and maintenance basis in 1986/7. Scott Lithgow ceased to trade in 1993 and the yard was offered for sale.

Arrangement

This material is arranged into series, which consist of numbers of items related by function and/or format. Within series, the items are generally arranged chronologically.