Millen Brothers
Shipbuilders and steelwork contractors, Saucel Iron Works, Paisley
1905 Business established in Glasgow by John White Millen and his brother Archibald Hood Millen.
1919 The business was transferred to the Saucel site in Paisley, which had previously housed a brewery. The site operated as a dry-land shipyard, building tugs, light draft vessels, barges and pontoons for shipment and re-erection, as well as steel tanks and chimneys.
1931 Constructed the hull and superstructure of a bucket dredger for Killinghall Tin in Kuala Lumpur. The excavation was done by a chain of 132 manganese steel buckets, each of 12 cub. ft. capacity, carried on a ladder with 195 ft. between the centres of the top pivot shaft and the bottom tumbler, and able to dredge to a depth of 130 ft. below the water line. The bucket ladder, pivoted at its upper end, was supported at its lower end by links, carried by wire ropes, was made by Francis Morton and Co of Garston, Liverpool, is of bridge construction. The slack of the chain of buckets was carried over a large caterpillar track. The sheave blocks and lifting links were supplied by the Wantage Engineering Co. Most of the centrifugal pumps were supplied by W. H. Allen, Sons and Co of Bedford. The main gears, driving the bucket chain, were supplied by Scott and Hodgson of Guide Bridge, Manchester. The ladder hoist and main winches were made by Renshaw and Co, Gower House, Newcastle, Staffs. The revolving screen was made by W. Richards and Son, Phoenix Ironworks, Leicester. The plant was driven by steam from a main boiler by Babcock and Wilcox, and an auxiliary boiler by Clayton and Co of Leeds. The dredging and pumping engines, of the triple expansion type, with expansion governor, were supplied by W. Sisson and Co of Gloucester. The condensers were supplied by Mechans of Scotstoun. The plant was shipped in parts and erected on the site without having been completely erected and dismantled at the works before dispatch. Thus considerable economy was found possible through great precision in the dimensioning of the various units and the location of holes. The consulting engineers were F. W. Payne and Son.[1]
1940 Millen Brothers Limited was incorporated as a private company, with capital of £50,000, to acquire and carry on the existing business.[2]
1968 The company ceased trading and went into voluntary liquidation the following year.
1977 The company was finally dissolved.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ Engineering 1932/02/05
- ↑ The Scotsman 6 April 1940
- National Records of Scotland BT2/1977/362
- Directory of Shipowners, Shipbuilders and Marine Engineers 1955
- Shipbuilding and Shipping Record October 4 1968
- Edinburgh Gazette 16 May 1969 p 380
- Daily Record 28 September 2013