Cammell Laird back on Merseyside
Cammell Laird back on Merseyside
The company has a 50-50 split of commercial and military work
The Cammell Laird Shipyard, which closed its gates in 2001, is to begin trading on Merseyside once again.
The ship repair and conversion company left the Birkenhead site seven years ago after going into receivership.
A group of Cammell Laird's former management team built up a new company at the shipyard - and have now revived the Cammell Laird name.
Managing director John Syvret said it had a full order book and forecast a turnover of more than ?90m.
He said the yard, which has a 50-50 split of commercial and military work, would now look to grow further its marine services business.
"This is a truly historic day for the shipyard," he said.
"We passionately believed that to bring back the Cammell Laird brand name and trademark we had to have enough financial strength, substance, and credibility to live up to its international reputation."
For the company to now be operating once again under the historic and prestigious name of Cammell Laird is fantastic news
Councillor Steve Foulkes
Until now the company has been trading as Northwestern Shiprepairers and Shipbuilders Ltd (NSL).
It signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) earlier this year for the maintenance of Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships, potentially worth up to ?1bn over 30 years.
Wirral council leader Councillor Steve Foulkes said: "The council has always been of the opinion that ship repair has a place in Birkenhead.
"We have argued consistently for that to be the case and have been delighted at the success of NSL.
"For the company to now be operating once again under the historic and prestigious name of Cammell Laird is fantastic news for those at the yard and the borough as a whole."
William Laird founded the Birkenhead Iron Works in 1824 and by 1828 it was making ships.
Cammel Laird was born in 1903 when Sheffield steel manufacturer Charles Cammell joined forces with the Lairdcompany.
The ships built at Birkenhead included battleships Rodney (1927) and the Prince of Wales (1941) as well as aircraft carrier the Ark Royal, in 1938.
