The company was set up in 1856 by Robert Baillie and Joseph Westwood, previously managers of Ditchburn and Mares shipyard.
[1] Partly as a result of a fall in demand due to the financial crisis of 1866, a period of financial stress and reorganisation resulted in Westwood and Baillie acting as managers for the London Engineering & Iron Shipbuilding Company Ltd, until they regained control in 1872.
[2] For much of its life the company produced iron and steel work for bridges.
The company also contributed towards the Attock Khurd Bridge, built in 1880, between what's now called Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa province and Pakistani Punjab.
It's still in a great ship and is a major attraction for tourists and history lovers.In 1890 company had provided its services in constructing an iron bridge connecting Trippunithura and Poonithura- also known as bridge over Padinjare Puzha( Kingdom of Cochin,Kerala-India) during the reign of HH Keralavarma V.This iron bridge(Irumbu Palam) is still in use.