On 1864 Andrew Strang acquired a small piece of ground on Blair Farm close to the G & S.-W Railway for which he agreed to pay a ground rent of £1.18s.1d - nearly £2 in today's money. The location of the Foundry was chosen because of it's closeness to Portland Iron Works and the blast furnaces of William Baird & Coy. Andrew Strang was a devout Christian man who well knew his job and was well known and liked at Hurlford. He had superb man management skills; unusual for that time. He was one of the "active spirits" in getting Hurlford Bowling Club established and every year his company held a social at the Institute for his employees. Each summer "Strang's Jaunt" to some seaside resort was a main feature. He was a member of the Free Kirk and of Riccarton School Board. Strang drew around him expert craftsmen with a pride in their work and the traditions they created were carried on until the closure of the works in 1950s. When formed, Blair Foundry was largely concerned with the production of castings for use in building construction. Many large buildings at Glasgow owed their stability to girders, columns and lintel's cast by Strang's, and in other cities of the world, as far as Calcutta, there are columns made in Hurlford. A speciality was water tanks which were turned out in great numbers. In 1901 following the death of Mr Strang, Alex Fraser was appointed Managing Director and in 1904 expansion of the company took place. Blair Farm disappeared due to commercial expansion and for the building of houses to accommodate new inhabitants. New technology was installed and there was little in the way of general iron castings that they did not produce at one time or other. During the 1914-18 war production of castings for "naval occasions" increased. Every Monday a propellor was cast and another ready for delivery. Many castings for marine engines were also produced and for the first time women were employed in the Foundry. In 1921 there was a further extension but because of a depression in the shipping trade the demand for naval equipment diminished. The worldwide depression which began in the 1920s thro' 1930s was difficult for Strang's and "making ends meet" became a problem. In 1939 when war broke out Strang's were once again "squarely on their feet" and threw their full weight into the nation's industrial effort for the purposes of war. For the Battle of the Atlantic, Blair Foundry was to achieve many notable records for the production of ship's propellors and the villagers became aware of the regular sight of vast propellors, lorry borne, through the village. Important people in the development of Strang's Foundry included; Mr Andrew Strang; Mr Alexander Fraser; Mr William Strang; Mr William Clark Jones; Mr John H Turner; Mr John C Charlton; Mr Stuart Fraser; Miss Margaret Borland and Mrs M H Fraser