Lobnitz and Co of Renfrew-made dredgers and steam engines for marine use
Maker of marine engines. [1]
1857 Henry C. Lobnitz originally joined the Renfrew yard of James Henderson
1866 The business was continued by James Henderson and Henry Lobnitz under the same name, Henderson, Coulborn and Co
1874 The Subscribers, Trustees and Executors of the late James M'Lintock Henderson, Shipbuilder, Renfrew, (William Henderson, Charles Henderson, James Dunn and Henry Lobnitz) ceased, in terms of the Contract of Copartnery, to have any interest in the Firm of HENDERSON, COULBORN, & COMPANY, as and from 17th July 1874.[2]
By 1884 Lobnitz was the owner of the yard. Lobnitz was Danish and used his Danish connections to generate trade for his yard. The Lobnitz yard built a wide variety of ships but was most well known for its dredging fleet made for Weetman Pearson
1888 Sub-aqueous rock dredger for the Suez canal.
1889 See 1889 Shipbuilding Statistics for detail of the tonnage produced.
1894 Solid Rock Dredger 'Majestic'. Full article and illustration.
WWI The yard made ships for the US Government and many small gunboats and warships for the British Military during the First World War. After the War, the yard made large suction dredgers and sludge carriers.
1920 Issued booklet entitled 'The Romance of Dredging'.
1952 Engine for Floating Crane 'Titan' for Mersey Docks and Harbour Board.
1957 The Simons yard was taken over by the Weir Group who then went on to buy out the Lobnitz yard in 1959.
1959 Simons-Lobnitz was formed by the merger of two Scottish dredger building yards William Simons and Co and Lobnitz and Co.
See Also
Sources of Information
- The Engineer of 2nd March 1888 p197
- The Engineer of 21st September 1894 p272
- The Engineer of 9th Jan 1920 p53
- Stationary Steam Engines of Great Britain by George Watkins. Vol 10