Company History
In
the year 1825 William McMurray (pictured right) set up in a modest
way as a Wire Worker in Glasgow, Scotland. The business dealt
with the manufacture of such ordinary items as fire-guards, bell-pulls
and even mouse-traps. The business prospered, so much so, that
the firm moved to Leith Walk on the outer edges of Edinburgh and
William's step-brother, James, was taken into the partnership.
Had McMurray but known it, he was moving his business to the city
and to the precise district of Leith that was destined to become
the printing and paper capital of Great Britain - perhaps even
of Western Europe. By 1835, McMurray, perhaps more by instinct
or accident than by deliberate choice, became interested in a
papermaking business on the outskirts of Edinburgh. It is almost
certain that he did not foresee how his two business interests
would co-ordinate. His wire works, Edina Works, flourished
on its own gaining a national reputation.
Independently, his interests in paper-making were growing and succeeding so that he now owned several paper mills around the country and had purchased esparto estates in Spain (esparto grass is one of the best constituents of pulp). In 1858, the firm changed its name to Robert McFarlane & Son pointing it in the direction of combining its wire weaving and paper making skills to bring it international success for nearly a century. The result of this union was probably not foreseen by all, except one young man of 19 years of age, John McFarlane, (son of Robert who had married into the McMurray family) and nephew of the McMurray brothers. John had quickly recognised that demand for paper was exceeding capacity in Great Britain. The paper-makers had accepted the limited life of paper machine wire and John set out to improve the quality and increase the output of the wire weaves. His success was instant and in the true spirit of the nineteenth century industrialism, he wanted to make the business all his own. By now William was well advanced in years and was deeply committed to his paper-making and other enterprises. He sold the Edina Works to John for £8,000 and went on to be a successful paper mill owner and newspaper proprietor. He died in 1887 at the age of 81 years.
As
soon as John was settled in ownership of the business, he proceeded
to overhaul it both in terms of the industrial plant and in 'the
art of selling'. Already securely established in the UK market
he began exploring export markets. Within the next few years he
had opened up lucrative markets overseas. Soon others followed
the business and a number of independent businesses sprang up.
In a comparatively young industry, a divergence of views and technical matters was causing confusion in the industry. John, and his son Arthur, were not slow to act, purchasing a number of competitors and on 2 December 1897 created a new company THE UNITED WIRE WORKS LTD. The scene was now set for general expansion and over the coming years the business expanded. However, with the advent of the 1914-18 war, the phosphor bronze wire used to weave the paper wires was in short supply (it was being used for munitions) and the business suffered and stalled. The company embarked on a programme to design its own casting furnaces and produce its own supply of wire from raw materials. This part of the business grew over the years from internal supply only to a separate business supplying third party customers until its sale in 2001. In 1925 the business found its premises in Leith too cramped and moved to a new 23 acre site in Granton, Edinburgh. It prospered and grew on this site with around 450,000 square feet of production buildings and over 1,300 employees. However, there were changes to come as the paper-making industry embarked on new technology substituting phosphor bronze wires for synthetic polymer de-watering belts.
The company had established an innovative spirit over the years e.g. weaving loom design, casting furnace design, etc and was intent on ensuring the survival of the business. It remained strong in its other product lines and by the 1970's had taken an interest it the growing oil & gas market appearing in the North Sea. It established a Joint Venture with another company, Thule Inc, to look at the manufacture of Shale Shaker equipment and screens. By 1976 it was manufacturing hook strip screens and screens for the VSM 200 mud cleaner used in the North Sea. In 1978 it bought out the other partner and established Thule United Ltd manufacturing the VSM series of machines and oil screens. During 1982 the VSM 120 Mud Cleaner and Shaker were launched and by 1986 the premium VSM 100 lineal motion shaker had been introduced to the market. By 1986 the Merger & Acquisition cyclone had caught up with United and the company lost its independence with its purchase by Scapa Group plc. Its shale shaker manufacturing business was sold off to Rig Technology, which was to be purchased by Varco International and now forms part of the Brandt organisation. United Wire retained the oil screen manufacturing business, for which it holds numerous Patents, continuing with its innovative spirit and producing in 1997/8 the first and only composite framed oil screen available in the market today.
At the beginning of a new millennium, the company set out to rationalise
its whole structure and in the process redefined its core business.
Passing through the hands of a venture capitalist, it has now
found a new home in the M-I SWACO business allowing it to offer
its wirecloth and manufacturing expertise in exchange for the
new opportunities available in a business with substantial global
reach.
Today, the ISO 9001 certificated company operates out of 90,000 square feet of modern production and office space with over 80 staff offering bespoke weaving and supply of wirecloth; oil and sand screen product manufacture; the Sweco range of industrial screens and parts; R&D and laboratory facilities; and a dedicated shale shaker and oil screen test rig .