Bairds & Dalmellington Ltd (iron and coal masters: 1931-1953: Dalmellington, East Ayrshire, Scotland)

William Baird & Co Ltd , coal and iron masters, Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, founded in 1830, had coal and iron interests in the county of Ayrshire, Scotland, but the early 1920s saw a drop in demand for iron, which along with industrial action lead to the closure of the company's Ayrshire iron works in 1924 after 84 years of production. The company's interests in Ayrshire were now focused on coal production. During the general economic depression of the late 1920s , the government encouraged firms to amalgamate and so Robert Angus (1882-1949), director of William Baird & Co Ltd, entered into negotiations with the Dalmellington Iron Co , Dalmellington, East Ayrshire, Scotland, the county's other main coal producer. In 1931 , the Bairds' Ayrshire coal interests were combined with those of the Dalmellington Iron Co to form Bairds & Dalmellington Ltd . The new company, 75 percent owned by William Baird & Co Ltd, controlled of 70 percent of the Ayrshire coalfields. Whereas the Dalmellington profits for 3 years preceding merger had seen a decline in the general climate of the depression, the Baird Ayrshire interests had shown a rise and this performance persisted in the new company. Gross profit as a percentage of nominal capital dipped to only 3.5 percent as a result of the combined depression and reorganisation but by 1938 it stood at 17.5 percent, was above 20 percent consistently throughout the 1939-1945 World War and reached 27.5 percent in the year before nationalisation. In 1947 , the company's coalmines were nationalised as part of the National Coal Board Scottish Division. The company was finally wound up in 1953 .

Source: A Slaven and S Checkland,Dictionary of Scottish Business Biography 1860-1960, vol 1 ( Aberdeen , 1986 )

From the guide to the Records of Bairds & Dalmellington Ltd, iron and coal proprietors and brick manufacturers, Glasgow, Scotland, 1908-1954, (Glasgow University Archive Services)