History

The name Houlder has been associated with the marine and offshore world since 1854 when the company was first formed as the Houlder Brothers shipping line.  Over the next century Houlder Brothers went on to develop as one of the largest commercial shipping fleets in northern Europe and specialised in the movement of refrigerated products from South American and South Africa. 

In the 1970’s the company began to move into oil exploration and achieved a number of notable ‘firsts’ within the industry including the design and build of the Uncle John semi submersible and the Orelia diver support vessel. 

In 1987 the organisation was reformed into Houlder Offshore Ltd and began to concentrate as a leading independent design and engineering company serving the marine, offshore and defence industries.  This was  centred on the core expertise of naval architecture, marine engineering and mechanical handling, however also included a range of support services including shipyard supervision and installation support.

In 2006 Houlder Ltd acquired Hart, Fenton & Company Ltd, a UK-based firm of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers specialising in new ship design for specialist commercial passengers and offshore applications, thus adding an important new capability to Houlder Limited’s overall portfolio.

Houlder Limited continues to build on its core capabilities and has recently established a new Defence office in Bristol and added offshore renewable energy to its portfolio of business sectors. 

As well as supporting its traditional markets and customer base Houlder is also actively seeking to expand into new sectors and in particular the Far East and the Southern Hemisphere.