Ship Engine Factories - Netherlands: Books - History

Stuwkracht in Staal - Motorenfabriek Bolnes Krimpen aan de Lek en / Motorenfabriek Smit & Bolnes Kinderdijk - Zierikzee

Johann Hendrik van Cappellen was the one who was granted a permit in 1885 to establish a Factory for Steam and other Machines in Bolnes. Van Cappellen started his own foundry where, among other things, winches, shears, bending machines and punching machines were manufactured.
In 1909, the first two-stroke hot bulb engine with crankcase flushing came onto the scene. In 1910, due to cramped housing, they moved from Bolnes to the river island "De Zaag" in Krimpen aan de Lek, located opposite the town of Bolnes. Until 1935, hot bulb engines were supplied with the oh so well-known crossheads and guideways, just like the many steam engines that were also produced in the meantime. In the meantime, through their own developments, they had switched to the production of real diesel engines, from 1928 onwards the Bolnes diesel engines were produced with an open or closed engine base as desired.
In 1949, the first fully welded Bolnes engine was completed. In addition to being a land and ship engine, this engine also proved to be extremely suitable for applications in the many types of dredging vessels.

Because the engine produced "only" 50 hp per cylinder and the demand for more power was high, especially in the dredging world, Mr. Dick Leonardus Hendrik Smit, deputy director of the family business L. Smit & Zoon N.V. in Kinderdijk, came up with the plan to build the Bolnes engine in an enlarged version at the Machinefabriek in Kinderdijk in consultation with the Van Cappellen family.
The enlarged Bolnes engine was marketed as the "Smit-Bolnes" engine.
The Smit-Bolnes engines were produced in Kinderdijk from 1954 to 1960, after which production was moved to a new Smit & Bolnes engine factory in Zierikzee.

This book tells the history of both manufacturers. All engine types produced are also discussed.

Part 5 from the series "Nederlandse fabrikanten van land- en scheepsmotoren".

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Paul van Vlissingen & zoon - Ondernemers in stoom

Paul van Vlissingen (1797-1876) is a pioneer in the field of steam energy. With his Amsterdam Steamboat Company he is the first in the Netherlands to open an overseas steam shipping connection: from Amsterdam to Hamburg.
With Abraham Dudok van Heel he starts the Royal Factory for Steam and other Machines Paul van Vlissingen & Dudok van Heel. They build the first iron steam ships with propeller in the Netherlands, the first steam locomotives in the Netherlands, balances for the steam pumping stations Cruquius and Lijnden for the draining of the Haarlemmermeer and steam engines for the sugar industry in Suriname, the Indies and West Brabant.

Son Paul Cornelis (1829-1906) further expanded the company from 1850 onwards. He took on major projects, such as the construction of the largest dry dock in Asia. He participated in the construction of the Paleis van Volksvlijt and in 1870 built the longest bridge in Europe, the railway bridge over the Hollands Diep near Moerdijk.
But the company went bankrupt and Paul C. emigrated to North America. At the end of the century he returned and was supervisor of the Stedelijk Museum in Haarlem, the later Frans Hals Museum, until his death.
In the meantime, the Factory made a fresh start under the name Werkspoor.

This Dutch book is a company history about a time when companies were still mainly family businesses. It is therefore also a dramatic family history, which extends over the entire 19th century. It is a story about pioneers, about forerunners.

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