JOSEPH SPARROW AND SONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21647, 18 May 1932, Page 19

JOSEPH SPARROW AND SONS

The firm of Messrs Joseph Sparrow and Sons was established in 1872, and it has held a prominent and honoured name in connection with the engineering business in this province and even further afield. Mr Joseph Sparrow, vyho founded the firm, learned his trade in the Old Country, and, after gaining considerable experience in the well-known shipbuilding yards of Denny Bros, and Co., and other engineering establishments in England and Scotland, he came out to this country equipped with expert knowledge which was extremely valuable, especially at a time when a great deal of work required to be done in developing the country, demanding enterprise, business courage, and foresight. At one time the building of dredges formed an impo-' mit pert of the firm’s operations, and a large number of machines were designed and constructed for work in New Zealand, and even as far away as Siam, Burma, the Philippines, and other countries. After the decline of the dredging industry the firm carried on general and marine engineering with a large measure of success, building up an extensive business. In more recent years Messrs Sparrow and Sons have devoted special attention to structural engineering, which assumed substantial dimensions as a result of the growing preference for steel-framed buildings. The installation of the most modern plant, including pneumatic, hydraulic, and electrical welding machinery sufficient for the execution of every kind of engineering undertakings, supplemented by skilled workmanship, has enabled this old-estab-lished firm to gain, and hold, a prominent place in the industry in which it is engaged.