John M. Henderson & Co. Ltd.

Aberdeen, Scotland, founded 1866

About MeJohn MacDonald Henderson, the founder of the engineering business, was born in 1843. He was only six years old when his father John, a prominent Aberdeen lithographer and engraver, fell down a lift shaft in Union Buildings and was killed.

In his teens John M Henderson was apprenticed to the engineering firm Abernethys of Ferryhill whose premises were to be found at the northern end of Wellington bridge. Later John MacDonald moved to London to work for Maudsley, Laws and Fields. The experience ganed in these years was to form the foundation upon which he was to build his Aberdeen based engineering activities.

About 1866 he set himself up in business in workshop at Jopp's Lane. It seems from the records that until circa 1872 he was in partnership with one James Adam. But in 1872 it is recorded that he was sole proprieter of the firm.

The growth of John's engineering work was, to a great extent, dependent on the expansion of the north east's granite industry. Demand for stone working machinery was translated into orders for Henderson products. Soon after returning from London Henderson was closely involved with improvements at "Aberdeen Granite Works". The experience he gained was put to good use: rock drills, stone turning lathes, stone cutting saws, cableways, stone polishing machinery and derrick cranes were all manufactured in John M. Henderson's workshops, and all were found working in the north east's granite quarries and yards.

John MacDonald Henderson died on 23 October 1900, aged 57.

In 1878 the business transferred from Jopp's Lanes to King Street Place. This small street which ran off King Street was the base from which the firm was to expand northward from King Street and backing onto West North Street.

In the 20th century John M Henderson established an international reputation for its high quality cranes and aerial cableways. Henderson products were exported to all corners of the world: a 3100 foot span cableway was used for the construction of the Nag Hamadi Barrage over the Nile, quarries in Mexico, the Aswan Dam, the Vaal Harty Dam in South Africa, Loch Sloy in Scotland etc as well as coking plant machinery for use in steel mills.

In the 1930s Hendersons became part of Mitchell Engineering of Peterborough. More recently it was owned by the American Conglomerate Gulf and Western Industries. In 1983 there was a further change in ownership when the business was bought over by members of Aberdeen management.

In January 1985 management announced the withdrawal of the manufacturing side of Hendersons in Aberdeen and its transfer to premises in Arbroath vacated by Keith Blackman and Company. These premises were within the Tayside Enterprise Zone, a fact which led to cries of "poaching" from a city MP.

Plans for a supermarket (Safeway, later Morrisons) on the site between King Street and West North Street began as early as April 1985.

The drawing office and administrative functions remained in Aberdeen until 1991. After 125 years the offices were sold in June 1991 and the Arbroath offices extended to accomodate the transfer of personnel.

See also the constituent record for John MacDonald Henderson.