Glasgow And Ships Of The Clyde

Burns & Laird shipping offices move to Ardrossan

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 10th April 1970

Burns & Laird Lines Ltd. are to build a new office at Ardrossan Harbour for their superintendent staff.
The new premises will be beside the company's present terminal and will be ready by the end of the year.
It will house the marine engineering and catering superintendents, along with their clerical staff.

The announcement was made this week when it was also stated that Burns & Laird Lines would also centralise their accounts section in Belfast and would move to a new office in Glasgow.

UPGRADING

"There is perhaps a slight down-grading of Glasgow," Mr. N. C. B. Wright, general manager of Burns & Laird, said. This is offset by an upgrading of Ardrossan. I don't think the public will notice any difference.
Certainly no change is anticipated in our service between Ardrossan and Belfast with the ferry "Lion."
"There were some redundancies and not everyone wanted to transfer to Belfast, but this was covered by early retirements, and in all cases but one the staff concerned have now got other employment," Mr. Wright said.
"The important public work remains in Glasgow - the passenger department for sales, package tours, party travel, and so on."

Burns & Laird are part of the Coast Lines group, based at Liverpool.
They will now become part of the new Irish Shipping Division of the group, of which Mr. Wright is a director.
Belfast will deal with passenger and freight accounts.

A spokesman for the Harbour Company, Ardrossan, told our reporter on Tuesday that he could confirm that the office would be built, but added : "While it is envisaged, it is still at the planning stage. But it will not take long to put up."

An employee of the Burns & Laird Lines Terminal in the Harbour indicated that the new building would take up a part of the present car park. And it will become part of the present administrative offices beside which is the Terminal Passenger Waiting Room.