Rcc 50th publication

50

YEARS

1964 - 2014

RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

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It gives me great pleasure as the 22nd President of Renfrewshire Chamber to introduce you to our 50th anniversary commemorative publication.

Like many areas of Scotland, Renfrewshire has seen many changes. This publication shows many examples of that change and the work your Chamber does for Renfrewshire.

One constant over the last 50 years has been the presence of your local Chamber of Commerce and we firmly believe that the Chamber is more relevant now that it has ever been.

Your Chamber is a vibrant and well-connected membership organisation that has helping Renfrewshire grow & prosper at its core; whether it be our events, marketing channels, the many private introductions we make to connect businesses or the ongoing promotion of Renfrewshire as a place to do business. Thank you to all our members, Board & staff past & present, for all your support & commitment to the Chamber. Here’s to the next 50 years.

Tom Johnston, President Renfrewshire Chamber

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Tom Johnston, President

RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

Chamber of Commerce, the beginning

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he first Chamber of Commerce in the UK was founded in Glasgow in 1783 following on from the American War of Independence that had a major effect on Glasgow’s tobacco trade. Paisley merchants joined the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce however those in Greenock formed their own Chamber of Commerce in 1813.

In March 1963 Paisley Town Council agreed to encourage the formation of a Chamber of Commerce and to arrange a meeting with the local productivity committee to discuss the growth of industry locally. The Paisley Productivity Committee had been established in 1953 along with eleven others in Scotland. These committees followed the establishment of the British Productivity Council. This council had been founded as the successor of the Anglo-American Council on Productivity, which had operated between 1948 and 1952 as part of the Marshall Plan.

Logos in the 60’s & 70’s

Logo in the 80-90’s

Logo now

Provost Isabel H. Leishman, who was the first woman appointed as Provost of Paisley in 1961 and had been a councillor since 1951, convened the meeting to discuss the formation of a Chamber of Commerce, which she considered was long overdue for Paisley. Miss Leishman spoke of Paisley as a “thriving county town” with 96,000 inhabitants. Within a radius of two miles, there was an airport (Renfrew), a harbour and the only car factory in Scotland. A new larger airport was shortly to start construction together with investment in the road network and all these facilities were expected to attract new industries and lead to an expansion of activities in the area. Construction of a bridge over the River Clyde at Erskine had commenced to replace the ferry.

M. Allan White – 1st President

Clark Hunter – 3rd President

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The Paisley & Renfrewshire Gazette aptly summarised the future in 1960 with the following headline,

‘The shape of things to come. Car plant, first step, then airport, Erskine bridge, new highways’ A local body was required to represent the interests of industry and commerce that would not only be value to its members, but also to local authorities and public utility corporations which provided services for them.

At the preliminary meeting with the Provost an exploratory committee was appointed and the members were M. Allan White (Thomas White & Sons Ltd.), Robert Adam (James Robertson & Sons), Clark Hunter (Clark Hunter Ltd.), James D.D. Shaw (James Kilpatrick & Sons Ltd.), and J.C.T. MacRobert. All these prominent local businessmen were closely involved with the Paisley Productivity Committee. This exploratory committee produced a report, which was presented to a meeting in Paisley Town Hall on 11 September 1963. Two hundred invitations had been sent out and 100 industrialists and business-people attended the meeting.

Mr. Allan White outlined and enlarged on the proposals and there was unanimous agreement to adopt the recommendations to establish a Chamber of Commerce in Paisley. Provost Leishman, who was thanked for her organising work, considered that having a single body to consult would greatly assist the Town Council in arriving at decisions affecting the business community. Annual membership of the Chamber was to be 3 guineas (£3.15). Membership would be open to industrial and commercial companies, retailers and professional firms in Paisley, Linwood, Johnstone and Bridge of Weir, and to industrial companies in isolated positions in the area. It was hoped that a membership of 350 would be achieved.

The committee of independence, recommended that the larger companies who were already members of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce

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should maintain their membership but give support to a Paisley Chamber as well. It was emphasised that the Paisley Chamber would focus on local issues. In addition to the original committee, additional members were appointed to the interim committee. These new members were J.E.C. Stone (United Thread Mills), D.G.N. Hannay (Rootes (Scotland) Ltd.), John Thom (Thom, Lamont & Co., Ltd, engineers), G.C. Davies (J. & R. Howie, sanitary ware).

The Paisley Chamber of Commerce was formally inaugurated on 15th January 1964 at a meeting in Paisley Town Hall attended by about 100 business people. M.A. White was appointed President with R. Adam as vice-President, J. R. McClymont solicitor, as secretary and D.W. Hunter (Bank of Scotland) as treasurer. The other directors appointed were Clark Hunter, J.D.D. Shaw, J.C.T. MacRobert, G.C. Davies, R.G. Alexander, J.E.C. Stone, J.D. Thom, E. Scorgie, D.M. Hannay, D.K. Hamilton, John Irvine, G. Strump, H.V. McNaughtan, H.A. McGeorge, James R. McKay and D.W. Hunter. Articles of Association were agreed and the membership fees were set at 5 guineas for members with 50 or more employees and 3 guineas for all other members. The constitution was to be submitted to the Board of Trade. By the time of this meeting 60 applications for memberships had been received.

Following further meetings in the spring and summer of 1964 it was agreed that the Chamber should be officially incorporated as a company limited by guarantee. The Memorandum of Association for the Paisley Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ltd. was signed on 17th December 1964 and became incorporated on 28th December 1964. Membership was open to any person, firms and corporations interested in the various branches of trade of Paisley and the surrounding area that was part of the Upper Ward of the County of Renfrew.

The Chamber was to be managed by a board of 18 directors, two of whom would be the President and Vice President. The first board was made up

RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

of those who had been appointed back in January 1964. The subscribers to the Memorandum were Matthew Allan White, Robert Adam, John Carmichael Thomas MacRobert, solicitor, Douglas Watson Hunter, bank manager, Robert George Alexander, building society manager, David King Hamilton, surveyor and Gerard Strump, chain store manager. The witness was J.R. McClymont, solicitor, 51 Moss Street, Paisley who remained as secretary of the Chamber for over 20 years. Interestingly 51 Moss Street was also the address for the secretary of the Paisley Productivity Committee.

Moss St office

The Chamber had a boardroom in the offices of MacRobert Son & Hutchinson, 51 Moss Street until 29th December 1987 when the registered address changed to 6 Gilmour Street, Paisley. On 27th March 1995 the name of the Chamber was changed to The Paisley and District Chamber of Commerce Ltd. and then again on 25th April 2001 to The Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce Ltd. The registered address changed to its current location at Glasgow Airport on 1st February 2006.

Offices today at Glasgow Airport

RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

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Significant Events in the Chamber’s Early History

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he first event was the “Design for the Future” exhibition in the Art Gallery at Paisley Museum organised by the chamber in association with the Scottish Committee of the Council of Industrial Design. This was opened by William Ross, Secretary of State for Scotland on 15 February 1965 and ran for 2 weeks. At the opening Mr M. A. White stated that the chamber had six aims—to publicise the achievements of their industry, encourage new industry and the expansion of existing industry, encourage high standards of design, promote education in industry, exchange information and support organisations such as the Renfrewshire Productivity Committee, the Council of Industrial Design, and the Scottish Council (Development and Industry). More than 2300 people visited on the first day and two films featuring the design exhibition were made. Unfortunately the films appear not to have survived.

In 1966 the chamber published an Industrial Survey of Paisley & District. The survey was conceived and developed by Clark Hunter, Vice President (Convener of the Development and Employment Committee) and John Thom as Assistant Convener. A booklet “What the well-informed business man should know about Paisley” was also published in 1966 and included an interesting cartoon drawing of a businessman being pointed in the direction of Paisley. A further industrial survey was published in 1972 At the first annual meeting on 16th March 1966 the chairman reported that the chamber was well established and would play an increasingly important part as an “alert watchdog for local commerce and industry”.

In1969 the membership had reached 350 however by 1978 this had

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RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

dropped to around 250 due to many companies closing in the difficult economic period of the late 1970s. By 1986 the Chamber was acting as the voice for nearly 400 members.

The chamber was authorised to issue Certificates of Origin and other documents in 1968. Members were charged a lower rate and it was expected that the service would be particularly useful for traders using Glasgow and Prestwick Airports.

Paisley’s first Trade Mission to Europe was organised by the chamber in 1969 and the president, Clark Hunter, led the group of representatives of local firms visiting Belgium and Holland over 12 days in May. Paisley’s Provost, William Diverty, gave a letter of good wishes to be delivered to the burgomaster of Brussels by Clark Hunter.

In 1970 preliminary arrangements were being made for a Paisley Trade Mission to the USA and Canada in 1971. The Board of Trade had asked the chamber to include California if this was possible.

The President’s report in the Annual report for the year ending March 1970 highlighted that it had been difficult time for a new Chamber as the whole Chamber of Commerce movement was being reorganised.

But, following protracted negotiations, eventually in 1969 the Paisley Chamber became a full member of the Council of Scottish Chamber of Commerce (in 1970 renamed The Scottish Chamber of Commerce).

The Chamber was also accepted as a full member of the reorganised Association of British Chambers of Commerce early in 1970.

Town Council and in 1969 a similar committee was inaugurated with the County Council.

In the 1970s the Chamber started producing a newsletter with the title “COMMPRESS” and this publication emphasised that the Chamber served Paisley and the surrounding district.

Following on from a pilot event the previous year the Chamber organised Paisley Business Week in October 1979 and the highlight of the week was an exhibition in the Paisley Art Gallery Exhibition Centre of local enterprises, showing services and goods produced in the area.

The Chamber was closely involved in the setting up of the Paisley / Renfrew Enterprise Trust in the 1980s and the first chairman was William Durrent of Chivas Brothers Ltd., a past president of the Chamber.

In January 1986 the Chamber celebrated its 21st anniversary with a dinner at the Glynhill Hotel in Paisley. Over 100 persons were present including many of the past presidents.

Paisley had twinned with the German town of Fürth, Bavaria in 1968 but it was not until 1982 that any thought was given to sharing market places. Brian Ritchie, Chamber president, became chairman of a two cities committee and, following a visit by a delegation from the Chamber in 1983, an industrial exhibition showcasing the range of products produced in Paisley and the surrounding area took place in March 1984.

There were regular Industrial Liaison Committee meetings with Paisley

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The Coats and Clark Thread Mills

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he Clark family opened their first mill for making cotton sewing thread in 1812 on the Anchor Mill site and in 1826 the Coats thread mill was established at Ferguslie. The Coats and Clark families merged to form J & P Coats Ltd in 1896 that, at its peak, employed over 10,000 in Paisley.

Aerial view of the mills in Paisley Ferguslie Mills

Economic changes resulted in the mills closing from the 1970s.The Ferguslie Mill complex was demolished in the 1980s to be replaced with housing, the Counting House however still survives following conversion for housing.

The Anchor Thread Mills comprised of about 40 buildings of different ages and some of these still survive. The old grey stone building to the left on entering the Seedhill Gate together with the Mile End Mill and some other buildings are now part of Abbey Mill Business Centre. The chimney at the Mile End Mill has been left although no longer in use.

The main mill building from the 1870s &1880s was demolished and Morrisons was built on the site. The future of the Domestic Finishing Mill built in 1886 on the river bend hung in the balance until The Prince of Wales’s Phoenix Trust became involved. The Trust proposed a solution of mixed use: car parking, business space and apartments. By consenting to the development of the large food store Renfrewshire Council ensured that part of the money generated went towards the repair of the finishing mill. Work started in 2003 and HRH The Prince of Wales was at the opening of the regenerated Anchor Mill in June 2005. An element of public access is possible to the spectacular atrium space. This year the atrium has been used to display the Great Tapestry of Scotland.

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Anchor Mill today

RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

Paisley College of Technology and the University of West of Scotland

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he college commenced teaching in 1901 mainly with night classes and courses for apprentices. Initially it was known as Paisley Technical College and School of Art, the latter had been established in 1836 becoming a Government School of Design in 1846. Following WW2 it gained Central Institution status (equivalent to Polytechnics in England and Wales) and became Paisley College of Technology in 1950 but the school of art had to close.

In the 1960s there was a large expansion of the buildings and in 1992 the college was granted the title of University of Paisley. The Paisley College of Technology in the 1960s

new university merged with Craigie College in Ayr in 1993. Following a further merger in 2007 with Bell College based in Hamilton, on 30th November 2007 the merged institution became University of the West of Scotland. The site in Paisley is now known as Paisley Campus of the University.

UWS Paisley Campus today

Following further building in the 1960s and 1970s, by 1976 the college was offering degrees ranging from biology to computing, from land economics to civil engineering through social studies and physics. It had 1,500 students on a 20 acre campus and there were plans to increase the student numbers to 5,000.

Prior to becoming a university the staff of the “Tech�, as it was affectionally called, were not only just teaching but also carrying out research and consultancy work. Several enterprises were developed specialising in engineering, chemical, medical and computing problems.

In 1998 a new library, information and learning resources facility was opened. UWS is now the largest modern university in Scotland.

RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

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Reid Kerr College and West College Scotland

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n recognition of the services of their chairman, Lieutenant-Colonel J. Reid Kerr, who resigned on 24 April 1958, Renfrewshire Education Committee decided to name the new trades college in Paisley, the Reid Kerr College. The first part of the new college, the first of its kind in Scotland, was opened to pupils in September 1958, having cost about ÂŁ300,000 to build. The college had accommodation for 1750 pupils a week, but this figure increased to 3000 with the building of an extension.

The students were apprentices working in central Renfrewshire and attended one day each week. The college was required to take over

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the courses below a certain academic level that Paisley College of Technology had to shed on becoming a Central Institution.

In 2013, following the merger with Clydebank College and James Watt College, Reid Kerr College became West College Scotland Paisley Campus, part of what is now the 2nd largest modern college in Scotland. On the campus that has seen much expansion over the years there is the Abercorn Conference Centre providing both training and conference facilities with state of the art technology. This red sandstone building was originally Abercorn School built in 1902.

RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

Rootes and Chrysler at Linwood

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ootes decided to build their new car called the Hillman Imp on the Linwood Road site and work started in May 1961. The official opening of the factory and the launch of the Hillman Imp was in May 1963 by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. The Mini was launched in 1959 and the Rootes Group’s Hillman Imp initially followed its huge success. The Imp had a rear-mounted engine and sophisticated suspension and cost only £508. Despite encouraging initial sales, the popularity of the Imp waned as the Mini sold well, having become a style icon.

In 1967 the Chrysler Corporation took over Rootes and various brand names were phased out with Hillman the last to go in 1977.

The Linwood plant eventually closed in 1981. By the time it closed the plant had produced around half a million cars. All that is now left of the complex is St. James Business Centre, the former administration block of Rootes (Scotland) Ltd. In 1989 the Tilbury Group obtained outline planning approval for developing the site, then completed the purchase and sold part to Asda for a superstore as anchor retailer. The site would be for a food superstore, retail park, an auto centre, commercial leisure development, plus fast food retail and financial service units, a hotel, 40 acres of business park, industrial land, and 20 acres earmarked for housing.

Aerial view of the factory

St James Business Centre today

The Hillman Imp

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Glasgow International Airport Emirates A380 at Glasgow Airport

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he new Glasgow Airport at Abbotsinch opened for business on Monday 2 May 1966. British European Airways (BEA) introduced the first jet service between Glasgow and London Heathrow with two Comet jet flights per day in each direction.

Glasgow Airport in 1966

The first airport serving the area had been at Renfrew and with the expanding popularity of air travel a new terminal building was opened in 1954. However with the increasing volume of traffic it was realised that there was insufficient space for the operation of large planes. A new airport was required and in 1960 the Government decided to make Abbotsinch the airport for Glasgow. In 1965 the airport had handled nearly 1.3M. passengers. A straight section of the M8 motorway, adjacent to Hillington Industrial Estate, is built upon the line of the former runway The airfield at Abbotsinch had opened in 1932 and then in 1933 City of Glasgow Squadron RAFVR moved to the site. In 1943 the airfield was transferred to the Fleet Air Arm and became HMS Sanderling. The White Ensign was lowered for the last time on 31 October 1963. Work then started to convert the station into a civil airport.

There had been a body of opinion that believed that the recently developed Prestwick (owned by the British Airports Authority) could have taken the traffic from Renfrew.

The development cost was over £4.5M. and this was shared between Glasgow Corporation and the Ministry of Aviation. The main contract (£2M.) for the terminal building, designed by Sir Basil Spence the architect of Coventry Cathedral, was placed with John Laing Construction Ltd., Glasgow in April 1964. The airport was intended to be one of the finest in Europe and also included a cargo terminal.

Glasgow Airport today is Scotland’s principal long haul airport servicing 30 airlines, 100 destinations and approaching 8M passengers a year.

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Glasgow Airport 2014

RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

Paisley Town Centre

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he project for Paisley’s new civic centre commenced in 1959.

The first phase, police offices and other offices, was started in 1966 and completed in 1969. In 1969 the second phase, new county council buildings, was started and the third phase, a suite of administrative offices for Paisley, was also approved.

The final fourth phase were suites and chambers for Renfrewshire and Paisley Councils. In the last 10 years the south building has been enlarged and modified for use by Renfrewshire Council and the old north building being demolished to allow flats to be built. With the building of new council offices and police station it was possible to demolish the municipal buildings, police station and jail that dated back to the early 19th century on the west side of the River Cart. Paisley Theatre on the east side of the Cart was first to be demolished and in

Piazza construction late 60s

1967 the first stage of the Piazza project, to bridge over the Cart, was commenced.

The project was to provide a supermarket, an office complex, a department store, a multi-storey car park, a first floor banking hall and accommodation for 43 shops. The shopping centre opened in 1970.

In 1995, it was refurbished and a roof was added over the previously open shopping precinct. The late HRH Princess Diana opened a further shopping area, the Paisley Centre, in 1992. The entrance to the centre on the High Street is through the Art Deco façade of the former Picture House opened in 1912. This had become a bingo hall in the 1960s and finally closed in the 1980s. The auditorium was demolished in the late 1980s for building the shopping centre.

Piazza today

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Inchinnan

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nchinnan is synonymous with the art deco office building designed by Thomas Wallis of Wallis, Gilbert and Partners of London for the India Tyre and Rubber Company that was opened in 1931. The office building is widely regarded as an art deco masterpiece featuring a white stuccoed exterior with two storeys of metal windows, and was embellished with green, red and black tiles.

William Beardmore and Company first used the site industrially for airship construction in World War I. The R34 was one of the airships built at the factory. The major part of the site and some of the buildings, including a large hangar, were purchased by India Tyres in December 1927.

The India Tyres office building became vandalised after India Tyres closed down and vacated the site in 1981. The former India Tyres buildings, with the exception of the office block, were demolished in 1982.

The India of Inchinnan office block was saved from its dereliction when it was bought, renovated and extended by the software company Graham Technology with the work completed in 2003. The Sword Group acquired Graham Technology Plc in 2008 and then in 2012 the Sword Group sold Ciboodle to KANA Software, a Verint Company.

Inchinnan Business Park is now home to a wide range of companies including Rolls Royce, the AFRC, Thermo Fisher, Peak Scientific, M&Co and Bray Controls.

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RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

Braehead

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he building of Braehead power station started in the late 1940s and was commissioned in the early 1950s. It started as a coal burning power station but was later changed to oil firing and was shut down in 1978 as being obsolete. Having sold off land for housing, the Scottish Exhibition Centre and the Garden Festival the Clyde Port Authority wanted to move more fully into property development on its 200 acre site at Braehead that included the 120 acre derelict power station site. In 1987 it became the focus for a planned ÂŁ150m retail, housing and leisure development, fronted by the Clyde Port Authority and Tarmac Construction.

In 1989 the proposed mixed development scheme at Braehead became the subject of a Public Inquiry ordered by the Secretary of State for Scotland after Strathclyde Regional Council refused outline planning permission. The Secretary of State gave the scheme the go ahead on appeal. One of his reasons was that the scheme would restore and make positive use of a large unused site, largely through private investment, that would unlikely be achieved in the near future without considerable public expense.

Intu, which was known as Capital Shopping Centres until a re-brand earlier this year, is the UK’s biggest shopping mall owner. It opened its shopping centre on the site in 1999. A retail park with space for larger stores was added a year later.

Further development occurred on adjoining land, including Xscape leisure complex (now Soar), an IKEA store, premium car retail, a Porcelanosa store and the Titanium Business Park. Some 2,000 new dwellings were also built nearby.

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Hillington

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olls-Royce established a shadow factory to build the Merlin V-12 engines for the Spitfire on the Scottish Industrial Estate at Hillington just prior to the start of WW2 and construction started in June 1939. Another factory was built for Rolls Royce at East Kilbride in the early 1950s. By 1964 the company was employing about 11,000 persons.

In 2002 Rolls-Royce decided to build a new production facility at Inchinnan on part of the derelict India Tyre site to replace the ageing Hillington plant.

The new factory opened at Inchinnan on 26 October 2004 and all staff were transferred from Hillington by 2005. In 2012 Rolls-Royce announced that the East Kilbride factory would close and the workers would be relocated to Inchinnan.

Aerial view of old Rolls Royce site

The Scottish Industrial Estate at Hillington had started to be developed for light industries in 1937 on 320 acres of farm land. Units of 1200 sq ft could be rented for £50 a year and this included central heating. Today it is still thriving as Scotland’s largest business estate now called Hillington Park and owned and managed

by MEPC plc.

Hillington Park today

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RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

The M8 and the Erskine Bridge

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ite investigations for the proposed Erskine Bridge construction Photo by Tom Collins, courtesy of InverclydeNow.com bridge to replace the Erskine Ferry commenced in 1959. With piling starting in 1962 construction was finally underway after more than 30 years of discussion with completion planned for early 1971. HRH Princess Anne officially opened the Erskine Bridge on 2 July 1971 and the Erskine Ferry stopped operating in the evening of that day. The bridge with a length of 1320m and central span of 300m was at the time the largest in the world of this type of lightweight steel construction. The central span had a clearance of 55m for shipping.

viaduct. The steel box-girder viaduct is carried on simple octagonal shaped concrete piers and was built by Sir William Arrol & Co. Ltd. There was a clearance of 24m. to allow the continued use of the river for ship transport below the two 76m. long central spans.

This 6.5 mile section of the M8 was initially known as the Renfrew bypass and was the first six lane motorway in Scotland. Travelling west from Glasgow the motorway started at the city’s boundary with the first junction at Hillington and continued along the site of the old runway of Renfrew Airport. After the St. James interchange the motorway continued for a further 3 miles ending at a junction with the A8 just short of Bishopton. In December 1970 the motorway was connected to the southern approach roads for the shortly to open Erskine Bridge.

The building of the Bishopton bypass section was delayed and the extension east to the Kingston Bridge and Glasgow opened in 1976.

The overall cost of the bridge including the approach roads was £10.5M. The toll charges were intended to pay for its construction however by 1979 the bridge debt had increased to £21M. Strengthening work to the structure was required in 1981 and a 10-month refurbishment has just been completed.

The main purpose of the Renfrew section of the M8 that was officially opened on 18 March 1968 was to provide a fast route to the new Glasgow Airport at Abbotsinch and also to serve industrial developments at Linwood. Construction had started in 1965 and the most significant structure on this section is the 820m. long White Cart

M8 White Cart Viaduct construction

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St Mirren

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t Mirren moved to their ground at Love Street in 1895, initially leasing the ground before buying it in 1905. The team defeated Celtic to win the Scottish Cup in 1926 and won the cup again in 1959 beating Aberdeen. By 1980 the club had raised enough cash to fund improvements to the pitch and stands. In 1987 the club beat Dundee United to once again win the Scottish Cup. The last game at Love Street was against Motherwell on 3 January 2009 after which the club moved to their new ground on Greenhill Road.

St Mirren won the Scottish Communities League Cup in 2013.

Scottish Communities League Cup Winners 2013

Love Street

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St Mirren Park

RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

Babcock & Wilcox at Renfrew

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he Babcock and Wilcox Company was founded in the USA in 1881. A British company, Babcock and Wilcox Ltd was formed in 1891 and a manufacturing facility was established at Renfrew.

The local market for marine boilers, cranes and similar products, had attracted the company. In the 1940s the workforce at Renfrew reached approximately 10,000 and in the 1970s was still over 5,000.

By the 1960s the Renfrew Works covered over 80 hectares and as well as building equipment for conventional power stations, it became involved in the development of the UK’s nuclear power stations. The boilers for the AGR nuclear reactors at Hartlepool and Heysham were built at Renfrew.

Old Babcocks factory

The foundry closed in 1972 because of a drop in orders and the constructional equipment department followed. By 1976 there was a threat of closure due to the lack of orders from the Central Electricity Board for conventional stations. Workers were laid off in 1977 and more layoffs followed in the 1980s. In 1995 following a part sell off to Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding of Japan, the company became Mitsui Babcock Energy. The company was renamed again to Doosan Babcock Energy Ltd following its sale in 2006 to the Doosan Group of Korea. The entire site is now Westway – an industrial distribution and office park home to not only Doosan but many other businesses.

Westway today

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The Board of Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce

Tom Johnston

Mike Walsh

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David Flint

Audrey Cumberford

John Sharp

John McConnell

Joan Sim

Alison Clark

Colin Neill

Richard Patterson

RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

Nick Cohen

The Chamber team

Bob Davidson

Bob Grant

Mark Brown

Catherine Campbell

Carol McIntosh

Laura Connor

Euan Keltie

Calum Breslin

RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

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Lunch speakers

Anne MacColl CEO SDI

Colin Kelly NSDesign

Jim Carswell, Ops. Director, Thermo Fisher

Maggie Morrison, ex HP AGM

Liz Connolly, VP West College Scotland

Sir Tom Farmer

Lena Wilson, CEO Scottish Enterprise

Scott Taylor, CEO GCMB

Prof. Craig Mahoney – UWS Principal

Iain McFadyen, MD Scottish Leather Group

Kate Lennon CEO & Peter Logue, St Vincent’s Hospice

Andrew Malcolm, CEO The Malcolm Group

Robert Fernie, Customer Services Director, Chivas Brothers

Amanda McMillan OBE, MD Glasgow Airport

John McGuire, Chairman of Phoenix Car

Ivor Tiefenbrun, Chairman of Linn

Graeme McDonald, Managing Director - Industrial & Utilities Division at William Tracey Group

Joyce McKellar, CE Renfrewshire Leisure

Cllr Mark Macmillan, Leader of Renfrewshire Counci

Lord Haughey

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RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

International events

Doing Business in Dubai

Doing Business in Belgium

ExpoRen

Gdansk Chamber visit

Doing Business in China

Export Forum / Valt Vodka

Ukraine Chamber visit

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Ministers / Government

Douglas Alexander MP and John Longworth Director General BCC

Meeting with Jim Sheridan MP at House of Parliament

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Chamber visit to Scottish Parliament

Chamber Independence Debate I

Transport & Planning Ministerial meeting at Donald Malcolm Heritage Centre

Chamber Independence Debate II

Minister for Enterprise, Energy & Tourism Fergus Ewing MSP

Hugh Henry MSP

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Supporting young people & our communities

Shaping My Future S2 event 2012

Recruit Chamber Challenge 2013

Helen Simpson, Accord Hospice CEO receiving Chamber cheque

Sailing for the Disabled at Lochwinnoch receiving cheque

Infiniti & Beyond - Primary School competition 2011

Council & Chamber Partnership Agreement signing 2014

Dragons Den 2014

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Our annual B2B event – Business Matters in Renfrewshire

Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon MSP

Douglas Flint CBE, Chairman HSBC

John Mackay from STV

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Walter Boettcher – Colliers Economist

Scottish Labour Leader – Johann Lamont MSP

Shadow Foreign Secretary, Douglas Alexander MP

Minister for Enterprise, Energy & Tourism Fergus Ewing MSP

Jim McColl OBE

Douglas Fraser from BBC Scotland

Sir Tom Hunter

RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

Our annual business awards – the ROCCOs

Fred MacAulay – ROCCO Host

ROCCO 2013 Winners

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Various pictures

Donald Dewar opening the business centre in 1998

Chamber Board mid 90’s

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Past Presidents at Chambers 21st 1986

IIP award with Jan Forrest, Bob Baldry & Liz Cameron CEO - 2000

Linda Perry with Chamber CEO Bob Davidson -2014

Chamber Team early 2000s

RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

Liz Cameron CEO with Philip Horton VP & J Wylie MBE, President 1995

Glasgow Airport Master Plan session

Environmental Forum at Wm Tracey

Burns Lunch 2014

Press photo from B2B 2014

Inchinnan Business Group at Rolls Royce

B2B 2014 exhibition

Manufacturing Forum at Scottish Leather

Loud n Proud at Christmas Lunch 2013

Russell the Piper Burns Lunch 2011

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The lighter side

Euan & Bob at ROCCO 2011

Bob & Tom doing Christmas Lunch raffle 2011

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X Factor visit to the Chamber

Laura, Catherine & Carol at ROCCO 2013

Bob D CEO in clean suit at Life Tech

The gents from the Malcolm Group

RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

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RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50

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Your Chamber today Today in 2014 Renfrewshire Chamber continues to grow.

With a healthy membership of just under 600 organisations of all sizes and sectors, the Chamber offers its members the following:

• A calendar of networking events – lunches, seminars & forums • The ROCCOs – the annual business awards – the area’s largest black tie event • Business Matters in Renfrewshire – our annual 2 day B2B event – the area’s main business event • Business Mentoring – helping 130 businesses get mentored every year • Export Documentation – 14,000 documents for 80 clients each year • Meeting rooms for hire at our offices at the airport • Chamber HR & Legal • Supporting Invest in Renfrewshire • Growing Talent / Graduate Recruitment Incentive – we’ve helped get >50 graduates permanent jobs • Supporting young people via chamber & schools partnership agreement and Young Enterprise Scotland • Marketing channels including magazine, web, app, eNews and social media

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Recent Awards: UK Chamber of the Year finalist 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013 Investors in People Silver 2012 (previously bronze) Renfrewshire Quality Awards Finalist 2012 Winner of BCC Commercial Academy 2011 (for 1st Chamber app in EU) 100% in BCC accreditation 2013

RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

The Future The Chamber continues to listen to and support our members in any way we can, flying the flag for Renfrewshire as a place to do business, work, live and visit. We will continue to support young people and further develop opportunities for members in international markets as the Chamber network forges relations with Chambers around the globe.

The Chamber supports the council’s ambition of Paisley achieving City of Culture status 2021 and we have long been advocates of Paisley focusing on the Paisley Pattern in a positive modern way that makes locals proud and attracts more tourism to the area.

The Chamber will continue to support and play an important role in various initiatives such as City Deal and the Glasgow Airport Investment Zone.

We believe the proud past of Renfrewshire does indeed pave the way for a promising future. We look forward to helping Renfrewshire grow & prosper for another 50 years.

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Thank you all our Premier Partners for their support

PREMIER PARTNER

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RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE PUBLICATION

Renfrewshire Chamber – The Presidents President

Term

President

Term

M.Allan White

1965-66

William S. Burns

1988-90

Robert Adam

1966-68

Sheila.G. Laidlaw

1990-91

Clark Hunter

1968-70

D J McCallum

1991-93

Robert G. Alexander

1970-71

J.J. McLaren

1993-95

James D.D. Shaw

1972-74

J A Wylie MBE

1995-96

Robert McKean

1975-76

Philip J.F. Horton

1996-98

Murray R.Hart

1976-79

Dr Tom Clark

1998-00

Jim Gillougley

1979-81

A M MacDonald

2000-02

Brian C. Ritchie

1981-83

R D Baldry

2002-05

William G. Durrent

1983-85

J B Harrold

2005-07

William S. Burns

1985-87

Tom Johnston

2007-present

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50

YEARS

1964 - 2014

Renfrewshire Chamber, Bute Court, St Andrews Drive, Glasgow Airport, Paisley PA3 2SW Tel: 0141 847 5450 • email: info@renfrewshirechamber.com Web: www.renfrewshirechamber.com