Successful entrepreneurship in the 19th century
Description
In the iron (19th) century, many small companies were established that applied that material. In the beginning, they were usually small-scale with 10 or fewer workers. Casting, forging and some machining operations (drilling, turning, sawing) were the main techniques used. In 1862, A.F. Smulders started such a company in 's Hertogenbosch. Steam engines and boilers were among his main products. The successful company expanded steadily; after 10 years, it employed about 100 workers. As he had virtually no physical expansion opportunities, Smulders seized his chance when he was able to take over the Utrechtsche IJzergieterij in 1872. In Utrecht, growth continued and the company also started building other items such as various machines, bridges and canopies. A real furore, also internationally, was created when the company started building dredgers and excavators. In order to be less dependent on suppliers, Smulders bought its own shipyard in Slikkerveer in 1894. To accommodate the continuing growth, Smulders and his two sons commissioned a completely new yard in Schiedam, the Werf Gusto, in 1905. In the early 20th century, this company was known worldwide for the dredgers it built and the Smulders family was among the more prosperous in the Netherlands. All this was achieved within half a century. Understanding how this was possible is a challenge.
Speaker(s)
prof Bart Boon (Bart Boon Research and Consultancy)
Bart Boon (1945) is a shipbuilder and also interested in history. After studying Shipbuilding in Delft, he worked for several years at the Gusto shipyard in Schiedam. There, he was involved in the design and construction of several innovative offshore units. After the yard closed in 1978, he stayed with the still existing Gusto Engineering for a few more years. Later, he transferred his thus gained experience in offshore equipment design as a professor at TU Delft before concentrating on the field of Construction and Strength of ships and offshore equipment. For some time now, in collaboration with several former employees of the Gusto yard and Gusto MSC, he has been trying to preserve for posterity as many memories as possible of that very special company. In doing so, the early history of the company has his special attention.
Location
Mijnbouwstraat 120, 2628 RX Delft
Organiser
History of Technology
Histechnica
Name and contact details for information
Further information at dr.ir. Paul van Woerkom (tel. 070 - 3070275 in the evening) or via the e-mail address below