Dowlais in the Steel Era, 1870–1900

The third quarter of the nineteenth century saw the Dowlais Iron Company, still a family-owned partnership in form unaltered since the 1750s, enter a further period of prosperity. Althouth the dramatic increases in profits and production evident in the earlier parts of the century were not to be repeated, consistently high surpluses were earned throughout the thirty years to 1900. The reason for the slackening rate of growth was evident: reliant upon imports of ore through the port of Cardiff and to an extent confined by the topography of its mountainous site, the company had reached the physical limits of efficient operation. Its engineers and managers were faced with the major problems of converting an old-established ironworks into a modern steel-making concern able to compete with large purpose-built works whose location had been determined by the need to minimise transport costs both in the reception of raw materials and distribution of finished products. The company responded in two ways: first, by progressively introducing steel technology to Dowlais and by constantly attempting to improve their iron-making and rolling methods and, secondly, by laying down a new integrated steelworks at East Moors, named the Dowlais-Cardiff Works. However, before this capital-intensive enterprise had time to generate a tangible return, the entire business had been converted into a private limited liability company and sold to Arthur Keen’s Patent Nut & Bolt Co., thereby creating Guest, Keen & Co.