Furness Withy
Furness Withy was a major British transport business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange.
History
The company was founded by Christopher Furness and Henry Withy 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, Henry Withy's brother. An early acquisition in 1900 was a controlling interest in Richardsons Westgarth & Company, a marine engineering business.Furness, Withy 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.
Also in 1919, Furness, Withy bought from Canada Steamship Lines the Quebec Steam Ship Company, which ran scheduled services between New York and Bermuda. Furness, Withy renamed its acquisition the Furness Bermuda Line. In 1928 Furness, Withy acquired the Red Cross Line.
In 1965 Furness, Withy acquired Royal Mail Lines in 1965.
In 1965, British and Commonwealth Shipping, Furness Withy, P&O and The Ocean Steamship Company established Overseas Containers Limited to exploit containerisation.
In 1966 Furness, Withy terminated its Furness Bermuda Line operation.
In 1968 Furness, Withy bought the Houlder Group, a company with offshore oil interests. Furness Withy bought Manchester Liners in 1970.
The company was acquired by the Orient Overseas Container Line of Hong Kong in 1980. In 1990 it was resold to the Oetker Group, who at the time of purchase were the owners of Hamburg Süd.