For centuries, shipyards are family businesses. Why do these firms start to disappear after 1850?

Building bigger ships and applying new construction techniques required considerable investment. And most family businesses lacked the necessary resources. They had to find new ways to make the investment their business needed while at the same time achieving financial stability for their company. That meant separating business from family. Firms employed new financial structures, setting up commercial companies that drew on the wealth of the old shipping families, but also on new external investors. Public limited companies first began to appear around 1880. This opened the industry to investors who had no history in shipbuilding. A few of the large modern shipyards managed to retain their family character in the new corporate environment by retaining a majority of the company shares and/or keeping a prominent role on the board. The increase in the size of shipyards was accompanied by further specialisation by workers. The director was less often a shipbuilder himself and for ship design, for example, trained engineers were required.