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William McKinnon and Company Limited

Artist Info
The Curing of Cacao - Its Preparation for Export
William McKinnon and Company LimitedAberdeen, Scotland, 1798 - 1996

Firm established in 1798 by William McKinnon (1777-1873) and continued in the McKinnon family for a further 2 generations (John & Frederick L.). Since then McKinnon’s have continued to be connected with the firm but not on the administrative or directorial level.

The business started as a general iron foundry with milling machinery being a speciality. The move into coffee-pulping machinery was made in 1840 and has been the firm's speciality ever since. They won a gold medal in London in 1914 for Tropical Agricultural Machinery.

The main market was export although some small parts made for the local market, for example manhole covers, parts for granite machinery and the like. The firm also held the patent for the suet shredding machine used by Atora.

John Gray (of Gray's School of Art) was a partner of William McKinnon and is listed in a record book for 1884 as drawing a salary of £25 per month.

For a more detailed Company History and insight into the collection, please consult the PDF document that is accessible alongside the primary image on this page.

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