A & S Henry & Co Ltd was founded in 1805 in Manchester by Alexander Henry in partnership with his brother Samuel. Their Uncle, Alexander Henry (born 1766 of Scottish parents), had emigrated to America from Ireland in 1783, establishing himself as a merchant in Philadelphia. The younger Alexander Henry also emigrated from Ireland and joined in his uncle's business but returned to England in 1804 rapidly establishing his company in marketing and distributing the products of the cotton industry from Manchester.
The company expanded opening branch offices in Bradford, Belfast, Leeds, Huddersfield and Glasgow to act as collecting stations for textile products of all kinds. In 1858 an office was opened in Dundee at 51 St Andrews Street although all business continued to be carried out through Glasgow until c.1903.
The company's Dundee interests grew with the acquisition of premises and existing companies in the city and in 1953 A & S Henry & Co (Dundee) Ltd was incorporated as a separate company. In 1972 A & S Henry & Co was taken over by Great Universal Stores and in the same year A & S Henry & Co (Dundee) Ltd was taken over entirely by the Titaghur Jute Factory Co Ltd.
Other members of the group, whether subsidiaries of the parent company or of the Dundee company include:
Cargill & Co Ltd, Dundee bleachers, incorporated 1895
Dundee Brattice Cloth and Waterproofing Co Ltd, incorporated 1917
Hardie & Smith Ltd, jute spinners and manufacturers, Dundee, incorporated 1917
Jaffe Brothers & Co (Dundee) Ltd, jute spinners and manufacturers, incorporated 1920
Moore & Weinberg (Dundee) Ltd, jute merchants, incorporated 1923
William Watson (Dundee) Ltd, bleachers and dyers, incorporated 1925
Thomas Duff & Co Ltd, was incorporated in 1883 as the Dundee based managing agents for a group of jute factories situated in West Bengal. These became ‘The Titaghur Group’ in 1969 and included:
The Samnuggur Jute Factory Co Ltd, incorporated 1974
The Titaghur Jute Factory Co Ltd, incorporated 1883
The Victoria Jute Factory Co Ltd, incorporated 1883
The Angus Co Ltd, incorporated 1913 (which included from 1917 The Angus Engineering Works)
In 1948 Thomas Duff was reconstructed and registered as an Indian company in Calcutta It continued to be the managing agents for the Titaghur Group and still maintained the Dundee office.
In 1974 all Indian members of this group were re-incorporated as Indian companies with registered offices in Calcutta Henry’s remained the UK registrars In 1978 Titaghur sold 51% of its interest in A & S Henry & Co (Dundee) Ltd, to Asiatic Jute Co Boston, USA.
In 1983 A & S Henry (Dundee) Ltd, and its subsidiaries was placed in the hands of a receiver.
