Wilton-Fijenoord was a shipbuilding and repair company in Schiedam, Netherlands from 1929 to 1999.Nedships.nl (in Dutch) Presently, the shipyard of Wilton-Feijnoord is part of Damen Shiprepair Rotterdam.
Wilton-Fijenoord was the result of a merger between the ship repair yard Wilton and the old Fijenoord shipyard. The idea was that the new combination would be more efficient on the huge terrain that Wilton had developed in Schiedam. The new company barely survived the great depression. In the 1950s and 1960s it flourished.
In 1964 Wilton-Fijenoord merged with the machine factory Bronswerk to form Wilton-Fijenoord-Bronswerk. In 1968, this combination was torn apart by Stork and Rijn-Schelde Groep. The latter got the maritime activities of Wilton-Fijenoord. In 1971 Rijn-Schelde merged with Verolme Shipyards to become Rijn-Schelde-Verolme. Wilton-Fijenoord was one of many daughters of the conglomerate.
Wilton-Fijenoord became independent again in 1983. Even so, it was not able to compete against shipbuilding in the far east. In late 1987 it ended this activity and became successful as a repair only company. However, by the early 1990s, Wilton-Fijenoord got into trouble by competition from eastern Europe. A failed attempt to get back in to shipbuilding then led to the demise of the company.
Damen Group Rotterdam currently runs a shipyard on the eastern half of what was once the Wilton-Fijenoord shipyard. It uses three of the old graving docks of the company.
Merger of Wilton and Fijenoord (1929) Wilton-Fijenoord had two predecessors. Wilton's Dok- en Werf Maatschappij was the biggest predecessor of Wilton-Fijenoord, the other was the Shipyard Fijenoord. By the mid 1920s these shipyards had become rather similar. Wilton still had an advantage in ship repair, and Fijenoord was still ahead in ship construction, especially for the navy. The idea for a merger dated as far back as at least 1927. The rationale was that the still profitable Wilton company had a major overcapacity and was spread over two locations. The activities of Fijenoord could just as well be done in Schiedam. A concentration of the combined activities in Schiedam would lead to major cost savings. In 1929 talks led to an agreement for a financial merger between the companies. Shares in Wilton and shares in Fijenoord were exchanged for shares in a new united company: Dok- en Werf-Maatschappij Wilton-Fijenoord. The ratio between worth of Wilton and Fijenoord was 15.5 : 3.
A new board of directors was formed by combining the board of directors of Wilton with that of Fijenoord. It had seven members, of which three from the Wilton family. The merger had taken place by creating a new public company that got all the shares of the existing companies. This was a fast way to merge, but it also meant that the organisations themselves continued to exist from a legal as well as an organizational perspective. These had a rather different culture. Many Wilton employees thought the Fijenoord men to be too precise and arrogant. Fijenoord employees tended to look at the Wilton men as disorganized, improvising and rude.
The Great Depression The Great Depression that started in November 1929 came at a very bad moment for Wilton-Fijenoord. Economic activity came to an almost complete standstill with regard to orders for new ships. Massive lay-offs reduced the number of employees at the company from 7,790 at the end of 1929 to 3,849 at the end of 1930, a decrease of 50%. In this crisis Wilton-Fijenoord faced a difficult decision. Should it radically concentrate all activity in Schiedam, and hope that the high cost for the move would be earned back by cost-savings? Or, should it evade the cost of the move by continuing at multiple locations? In 1932 the board decided to close down the Fijenoord location, and to move the activities on the Westkousdijk (Delfshaven) to Schiedam as much as possible. In the end this ambition to centralize everything in Schiedam would not be realized (cf. below).
Meanwhile, the crisis grew ever darker. Dividend payments were stopped, reserves were shrinking, and even the payment of interest became doubtful. The costs of the move to Schiedam also proved higher than estimated. Of course cost cutting was somewhat effective, but it was not enough. In 1932 the order for the cruiser gave some air to the company. A few repair orders were also profitable. The shipyard also took over the machinery of bankrupt HIH Siderius artillery firm in 1934 and in the second half of the 1930s built 120-mm and 150-mm guns for the Dutch Navy jointly with Bofors, also producing several Wilton-Fijenoord Pantserwagen armoured cars in the mid-1930s. In 1935 the three floating dock were towed to Schiedam. Nevertheless, in 1935 the repair orders hit an absolute low, with 301 ships for 1,622,960 rtb.
On 29 January 1936 the board then proposed to postpone the repayment of part of open bonds by one year. The department of defense intervened by giving advance payments on submarine mine layers. In the end a government guarantee of a private loan of 1,500,000 guilders saved the company. A financial reorganization followed in 1936. The nominal capital of 25,000,000 guilders, which had been reduced to 15,500,000 guilders earlier, was further reduced to 4,650,000 guilders. Two old loans were repaid. It allowed the company to raise new capital of 3,900,000 in 1938. By 1938 the ship repair business had recovered. In 1928 the number of ships using the dry docks was 486 for a tonnage 2,506,609 R.T.B. In 1938 it were 463 ships with 2,590,696 R.T.B. In 1938 and 1939 the shipyard paid dividend again.
Tankers
The construction of tankers was the only kind of civilian construction that kept the large Dutch shipyards afloat. In November 1933 the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum company (part of Royal Dutch Shell) placed an order for three tankers of 12,000 tons capacity. One at NSM, one at RDM and one at Wilton-Fijenoord. The tanker at Wilton got the name Rapana. In the whole year 1934, Wilton-Fijenoord did not receive any order for a new ship. At the end of 1934 the work on Rapana was the only work on new merchant ships still ongoing. In early 1935 the Bataafse Petroleum Maatschappij, another subsidiary of Shell, ordered six tankers for 6,000,000 guilders. The NSM would build the two largest of 12,100 tons. Wilton-Fijenoord would build two of the four ships of 9,250-ton capacity each. The order came in on 5 February 1935 and would permit Wilton to keep her slipways reasonably filled. In late 1935 Wilton-Fijenoord got another order for a 9,100 ton tanker. On 18 January 1936 Eulota of 9,100 tons was launched. On 25 April 1936 Elusa was launched. On 7 November 1936 the third 9,100-ton capacity ship Eulima was launched. In early November 1936 Wilton-Fijenoord got a new order for one tanker of 12,000 tons and one tanker of 9,000 tons.
The Nederlandsche Pacific Petroleum Maatschappij was active in the Dutch East Indies. It was a subsidiary of Standard Oil Company of California, later (Chevron Corporation). In May 1936 it ordered a 12,000-ton tanker at Wilton-Fijenoord. In June 1936 the Nederlandsche Pacific Petroleum Maatschappij then signed a contract for oil exploration in a big area of southern Sumatra. On 6 March 1937 the tanker called Nederland was launched.
Warships
The order for two s, laid down in June 1931 was very welcome, but could not save the company. As stated above the order for the light cruiser De Ruyter was a more substantial 'aid'. The two mine-laying s were laid down in June 1936. At that moment the worst of the crisis was over, but the liquidity was saved by the above-mentioned advance payments on these ships. The that was later named De Ruyter was laid down in September 1939, too late to be launched before the Netherlands were occupied in 1940.
Cooperation in design A notorious problem of the Dutch shipyards before the Second World War, was the lack of design capabilities. Accordingly, Wilton-Fijenoord had to buy the vessel designs from independent design companies and developed only the detailed structures. By a cartel agreement, four Dutch yards including Wilton-Fijenoord formed a joint design office in 1935. As a contractor, the yard contributed mainly its expertise in organizing the construction of ships.Gerbrand Moeyes, Networks in Dutch Shipping and Shipbuilding, 1900–1940, in: L. U. Scholl, D. M. Williams, Crisis and Transition. Maritime Sectors in the North Sea Region 1790–1940, 8th North Sea History Conference Bremerhaven 2005. Bremen: Hauschild 2008, pp.196–215.
Another cooperation in design was that between Fijenoord and the IVS or NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw. The IVS was deeply involved in the design of De Ruyter, and so the similarity in appearance between the s and De Ruyter is explained.
World War II
After the German invasion in May 1940, the board of Wilton-Fijenoord consisted of W. Wilton, C.H. Teschmacher, ir. J.H.H. Verloop, and Mr. Kanter. Mr. Kanter soon quit citing health reasons, and Verloop was in the United States. The remaining board members found themselves in a very difficult position. They headed a company that built warships and owned floating dry docks that could be used to maintain and repair major warships. The board was also responsible for 4,200 employees. It resulted in a kind of give and take policy whereby the company collaborated, but meanwhile sabotaged the results.
During the War Wilton-Fijenoord completed the submarine O 25, which had been launched a few days before the war. She would serve in the German Kriegsmarine as and actually sink an Allied ship. During the war Fijenoord would also launch the cruiser later named De Ruyter, but known at that moment as KH 1 (Kreuzer Holland 1).
The shipyard was severely bombarded by the allied airforce. The bombardments focused on the large dry docks. The 46,000 tons Pola Drydock ('drydock 4') was damaged so severely that the Germans almost decided to break it up. The 20,000 tons 'drydock 5' became unusable and was towed to the Waalhaven. In the second half of 1943, the occupier began to plunder the assets of the shipyard, moving the machinery and tools to Germany. In November 1944, many of its employees were taken to work Germany.
Post World War II
On trial for collaboration
After the war, the board of Wilton-Fijenoord was accused of collaboration. While W. Wilton continued in the board, C.H. Teschmacher, A.C. Metzelaar, and F. Muller were arrested in June 1945. In mid-June 1946, they were set free as the accusations were deemed less serious. In October 1947, Teschmacher and Müller were arrested again. In February 1948, a trial was finally started. This time William Wilton, who had obviously not been arrested, also faced charges. A verdict of 20 March imposed heavy fines and convicted Teschmacher, Metzelaar, Muller to prison sentences. The sentence also forbade all four suspects to work in the management of shipbuilding or machine factories for three years.
In January 1949, the verdict was appealed at the special Court of cassation in The Hague. The court of cassation cancelled the verdict and forwarded the case to the special court in Amsterdam. A December 1949 verdict contained the following punishments: C.H. Teschmacher 18 months in prison and a fine of 30,000; F. Muller 16 months and 20,000 guilders; W. Wilton to pay 50,000 guilders; A.C.M. Metzelaar 12 months in prison. The directors appealed again at the special court of cassation. This time the sentences were much more lenient: Wilton only got a suspended prison sentence; Teschmacher only got nine months; Müller got 12 months and a fine of 10,000 guilders. All with subtraction of the time they had already spent in detention. The court said that the accused had not resisted enough. Müller was to blame most, because he had let himself be appointed as board member.
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