Just about every White Star Line ship was built in Belfast by Harland & Wolff Shipyard, including the R.M.S. Titanic. Over 15 thousand worked on the Titanic alone, out of a global 65 thousand workers Harland and Wolff workforce. By the end of the 19th century, they were the largest ship builder in the world — a production run that included 1750 ships from their Belfast ship yard.

The ties between the White Star Line and Harland and Wolf were typical of the era. Thomas Henry Ismay bought the White Star Line in 1864 with the condition that ships be built by Harland Wolf. It was about keeping the business in the family, Gustav Wilhelm Wolff was the financier's nephew and partner in Harland and Wolff.

Although the cranes used to build the super ships in the 70s still stand, now a landmark on the skyline for Belfast, Harland and Wolff ship building business isn't the main focus of the company. Today Harland and Wolff are busy building the next generation of off-shore wind power farms.