William Simons & Co Ltd (ship and dredger builders : 1814 - 1959 : Renfrew, Scotland)

William Simons started as a shipbuilding company in Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland in 1810 but after two years there, the company moved to Canada, setting up again in the same trade on the Isle Aux Noix near Montreal. Having left his brother, Peter, in Canada, the founder returned to Greenock, to the site of his original shipyard in 1818 , and operated there until 1826 , when the proposed construction of the Victoria Harbour brought about further relocation, this time to Whiteinch , Glasgow, Scotland. Here William Simons built his first steamship but wooden hulled brigs, barques and full-rigged ships continued to be the mainstay of the yard.

William Simons died in June 1839 and the firm was carried on by his eldest son, also named William, and another son on behalf of their father's trustees. At Whiteinch , the move to iron shipbuilding began in earnest so that by the late 1850s , ship construction had become a science of working in metals.

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