APCL Group Ltd Birkenhead

William Laird started as a boiler maker in 1824 at Wallasey Pool, and with his son John, built ships from 1828. It moved to its present site in Birkenhead on the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool, in 1856. William Laird and Charles Cammell amalgamated to become Cammell Laird in 1903. With the general malaise in UK shipbuilding, the company was nationalised by 1977 and was re-privatised in 1986 as part of Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd (VSEL).

The company closed in 1993 and reopened in 1995. By 2001 it went into receivership and was bought out by A&P, who eventually sold it to Northwestern Shiprepairers and Shipbuilders Ltd (NSSL) in 2003. NSSL focussed on repairs rather than building and on 1 Dec 2008, the famous Cammell Laird name was re-introduced.

The company has international alliances which have positioned it to win and extend Cluster contracts from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary to maintain availability of a number of vessels, globally.

As of 2011, Cammell Laird had 4 RFA Cluster maintenance contracts, numbers:

3: RFA Bayleaf, RFA Orangeleaf, RFA Black Rover, RFA Gold Rover

4: RFA Diligence, RFA Wave Knight, RFA Wave Ruler

5: RFA Fort Austin, RFA Fort Rosalie

6: RFA Fort George, RFA Fort Victoria

Clusters 1 and 2 were held by A&P Falmouth. From Jun 2013, Cammell Laird embarked on a 5 year extension to its RFA cluster contract, until 2018.

During Oct 2018, the MoD announced renewal of a restructured Lot 1 RFA maintenance contract from Mar 2019 to Jun 2028, to consist of RFA Fort Victoria, RFA Fort Austin, RFA Fort Rosalie, RFA Wave Knight and RFA Wave Ruler. Cammell Laird was also awarded the Lot 3 RFA maintenance contract consisting of RFA Tidespring, RFA Tiderace, RFA Tidesurge and RFA Tideforce.

During Oct 2023, Cammell Laird and Neway Industrial Services (a marine paint specialist, also in Birkenhead) merged with A and P (Hebburn, Middlesbrough and Falmouth) and A and P Australia, to become APCL Group Ltd.

The companies will retain their own identities but it makes formal, years of previous co-operation agreements and each can call on the resources of the other, to offer a flexible approach to work.