Furness Withy
| Industry | Transport |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired |
| Successor | Orient Overseas Container Line |
| Founded | 1891 |
| Defunct | 1980 |
| Headquarters | Hartlepool, UK |
|
Key people
|
Christopher Furness |
| Website | Furness Withy (Chartering) Ltd. |
Christopher Furness
Henry Withy
Furness Withy was a major British transport business. It was listed on the .
The Company was founded by Christopher Furness and Henry Withy (1852-1922) in 1891 in Hartlepool. This was achieved by the amalgamation of the Furness Line of steamers with the business of Edward Withy and Co., iron and steel shipbuilders and repairers, of West Hartlepool, which was founded by Edward Withy (1844-1927), Henry Withy's brother. An early acquisition in 1900 was a controlling interest in Richardsons Westgarth & Company, a marine engineering business. It started with 18 vessels and over the subsequent years it owned in excess of a thousand ships. It bought the Prince line in 1916. In 1917 the Furness Shipbuilding Co Ltd was established, at Haverton Hill, River Tees, initially for war production. The Furness family sold its interests in the Company to a consortium led by Frederick Lewis, a Director in the business, in 1919.
Furness, Withy acquired the Red Cross Line in 1928 and Royal Mail Lines (formerly Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, once the largest shipping group in the world) in 1965. In 1968 it went on to buy the Houlder Group, a company with offshore oil interests.
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