Stevenson, Higgins, & Co.

MESSRS. STEVENSON, HIGGINS, & Co., Janefield Cabinet and Chair Works, Beith, Ayrshire.

    The marvellous development which has characterised the cabinet-making industry in Beith, during recent times, is well illustrated in the case of the above very eminent firm. These works were started eight years ago with only sixteen hands, and the rapidity of their development has been such that now 150 hands are employed, and the premises cover a couple of acres. In fact, a revolution has taken place in the industry by the introduction of machinery for the almost automatic production of the several parts of which furniture is constructed, and so great is the accuracy, and so perfect the finish of the work, that it excels even the most skilled hand labour.

    Messrs. Stevenson, Higgins, & Co.’s premises comprise every department incidental to the industry, from the saw-mill, where the preliminary cutting is done, to the departments where the finishing touches of the polisher and gilder are given to the completed article. The firm have lately added an extensive storeroom covering a great space. The main factory is of four storeys, 83 feet by 32 feet. The ground floor is occupied by the sawing plant and the turning and shaping appliances used in the preparatory stages of the manufacture. The upper floors are equipped with various other ingenious machines for completing the process ; the different pieces reaching the hands of the workmen in the fitting-up department ready to be put together.

    A large portion of the work is sent out in the “frame” state, but much of it is passed on to the polishing and upholstery departments, to be completed. For bedroom suites of the finest design and the best material and workmanship, Messrs. Stevenson, Higgins, & Co. have gained an enviable reputation with the trade ; while in the production of chairs of all classes, except kitchen chairs, they are facile princeps. From the constructional principles adopted by the firm, the great desideratum of strength, and its corollary durability, has been notably attained ; while in matter of design they are recognised as specialists both for modern, sub-modern, and Renaissance work.

    They are also well known as experts in the manufacture of ship furniture ; and, indeed, in every section of the industry, the visitor to their establishment will see enough to convince him that the phenomenal progress of the firm has been won by sheer merit alone. A great number of the most exquisite designs are now in stock, and the student of the progress of our art-industries who visits the rooms of this firm will have a rare opportunity of studying the latest developments of cabinet making.

    Steam power, we need hardly say, is supplied in excess of all possible requirements by a powerful horizontal engine, and the working staff consists of picked hands. The immense output finds its way to the best houses all over the United Kingdom, with which the firm enjoy the most pleasing relations and the most flattering reputation. Their stock of hardwoods is also as extensive as it is varied and select, finding ample accommodation in their extensive yards and storehouses during the long but indispensable seasoning process. The whole business is perfectly organised, and is carried on, on its commercial side, with the same energy and judgment that distinguishes its executive departments.

Back to Index of Firms (1891)