| Former type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Civil engineering |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Successor | Clarke Chapman |
| Founded | 1873 |
| Defunct | 1969 |
| Headquarters | Glasgow, UK |
| Key people | Sir William Arroll (Chairman) |
Sir William Arrol & Co. was a leading Scottish civil engineering business founded by William Arrol and based in Glasgow. It built some of the most famous bridges in the United Kingdom including the Forth Bridge and Tower Bridge in London.
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The company was founded by William Arrol at Dunn Street in Dalmarnock in Glasgow in 1873.[1] It later expanded to incorporate the Parkhead Crane Works in Nuneaton Street.
Bridges built by the company include:
The company was contracted by Harland and Wolff Shipyard, Belfast, to construct a large Gantry (known as the Arrol Gantry) for the construction of three new super-liners, one of which was called the RMS Titanic. Like the ships themselves, the gantry crane was the one of largest built at the time, comparing with transporter bridges in length, height and capability.
The company also built the crane for the Hikitia in 1926, which is thought to be the last fully operational self-propelled steam crane in the world.
The company was acquired by Clarke Chapman in 1969 and the Dalmarnock Works were closed in 1986.[2]