Wilton's Dok- en Werf Maatschappij was a Dutch shipbuilding company active as an independent company from 1854 till 1929. At first it was simply known as 'Wilton'. In 1921 the final Dutch name became: 'Wilton's Dok- en Werf Maatschappij NV', the equivalent of 'Wilton Engineering and Slipway Company'. Wilton started as a traditional smithy and expanded in machinery. It specialized in ship repairs, but also became a shipyard. At first only for fresh water ships. In spite of multiple name changes the company was commonly referred to as 'Wilton'. In 1929 a merger with Fijenoord led to a new company known as Wilton-Fijenoord.
Founded as a smithy in Rotterdam center Bartel Wilton Sr. (1828-1898) had left Rotterdam to work on a shipyard in London. While there, his old father was living in humble circumstances near the country house of the merchant and regent Abram van Rijckevorsel (1790-1864). Van Rijckevorsel and his friend the shipping magnate Willem Ruys (1837-1901) got an idea to help the old Wilton, who could no longer support himself. They gave Bartel Wilton a loan, so he would return to Rotterdam, and could take over a stove smithy to support himself and his father.
On 7 January 1854 Bartel Wilton started his business as a house and stove smith at the south side of the Baan in Rotterdam. Bartel had seen modern capitalism in London. He visited ships to get smithy work, and invested the profits in new staff and equipment. After his marriage his wife took care of finance and payments. In 1856 Bartel advertised his abilities in electrogalvanization, especially for ship parts. In 1865 Wilton's smithy started to use to steam power. Wilton's smithy was especially successful in boiler repair. In 1875 the company had 35 employees and hired J. Rijsdijk as administrator.
When the company had grown to a few hundred employees, the smithy on the Baan nr 156 continued to exist. In 1893 Wilton got permission to expand it to the plots Lerengang 12 and 13. In 1894 another permit to expand it was requested to the city council.
On the Westzeedijk (1876-1904) In 1876 Wilton got a thirty year lease on a piece of land behind the parade ground of the militia on the Westzeedijk. It measured 70 by 110 meter, was located on the Meuse, and is now clearly a part of Rotterdam. At the time the factory was often referred to as lying at 'Schoonderloo', a small village just east of Delfshaven. At the Land registration the terrain at the Westzeedijk was known as Delfshaven sectie B No 4507. All in all a recipe for stating that the factory at the Westzeedijk was in Schoonderloo, or even Delfshaven, while it is now in Rotterdam. In this area a small harbor was constructed with a slipway parallel to the waterfront. This slipway made it possible to pull shipsvessels out of the water for repair. Soon the center of gravity of the company shifted to the Westzeedijk.
Starts to build engines Wilton was one of several companies that started to construct steam engines and boilers in the 1870s: On 16 September 1876 shipyard van der Kuijl in Slikkerveer launched the iron screw tugboat Hendrika Wilhelmina for A. Bos in Alblasserdam. The machines were to be made by Wilton. On 20 December 1877 the shipyard Wed. C. Boele en Zonen launched the screw tugboat Vooruitgang for Johan van der Graaf at Kralingen, the machine was made by Wilton. On 26 January 1878 M. van der Kuyl in Slikkerveer laid down an iron passenger screw steam boat for Wijnands & Co in Groningen. Wilton would build the machines. The Burgemeester van Uithuizen was launched on 24 May 1878. Van der Kuyl then immediately laid down the Volharding 7 for the Leidsche Stoombootmaatschappij Volharding, also with machines by Wilton. On 9 May 1881 shipyard Gebroeders Pot in Bolnes laid down an Icebreaker with machinery and boilers by Wilton. In 1893 Wilton got orders for a 180 hp engine for the William Egan & Co III built by M. van der Kuil in Slikkerveer. It would also built the machinery for the following William Egan & Co's that would number up to 18. In 1895 Wilton built the 250 ihp machines for the Betsy, the first Dutch steam trawler. In 1896 a Wilton company built the engine and boilers for the fishing sloop Koningin Wilhelmina.
Becomes a shipyard On 18 July 1882 Wilton launched its first ship. Cf below for more ships built by Wilton. In 1893 the terrain next to the slipway was heightened by 25,000 cubic meters of soil dug out for the harbor of Katendrecht.
Bartel Wilton Jr. joins the company On 24 September 1889 Bartel Wilton and Bartel Wilton Jr. (1863-1938, also known as 'Bart') came to an agreement for joint ownership of and authority over the company. This did not pertain to acts like lending money or offering security. For these Bartel Sr. remained the only authority.
On the Westkousdijk (1900)
In the 1890s it became clear that Wilton's lease on the terrain at the Westzeedijk would not be continued by the city council. The terrain would be used to expand the city and to dig out the Parkhaven. Therefore Wilton had acquired a new terrain near Delfshaven in 1894. This terrain was the Ruigeplaat, a shoal in front of Delshaven, that had been dug through to directly connect Delfshaven to the Meuse again. The company acquired the Ruigeplaat for 375,000 guilders. On the western part of this shoal a new plot for the company was made. It got the address Westkousdijk.
Public company Machinefabriek voorheen onder de firma B. Wilton The move to Delfshaven would be combined with bigger plans. On 14 February 1895 the private company was transformed into a limited company with a capital of 300,000 guilders. Bartel Sr. got 296 shares and Bartel Jr. just three. For these they brought in their ownership of the company. Henry Wilton just one share, that he paid in cash. The new company got the name: 'Machinefabriek voorheen onder de firma B. Wilton'. The statute of a limited company helped to keep profits in the company and to raise capital. On March 4, 1895, the sons Bart and John Henry Wilton took over their father's part in the business. Bart was a businessman, and John Henry a technician who had been trained as a shipbuilder in Delft. Bartel Jr. opted for an expansion strategy to profit from the huge growth of the Rotterdam port following the completion of the Nieuwe Waterweg and the economic expansion of Germany. In his vision one should stay ahead of the competition by having the best technical equipment on the most economical place (the Westkousdijk). Bart would prove right in his assessment.
Facilities on the Westkousdijk On 3 September 1898, a few weeks before he died, the Bartel Wilton Sr. laid the first stone for a big new factory to build boilers. In 1902 an electrical power plant was built. The new complex also included a machine factory, an iron foundry, and a slipway for sideways launching. This could also be used to pull ships out of the water.. By 1904 the whole company was concentrated in Delfshaven.
The jewel in the crown was a floating dry dock launched in 1907 by Swan Hunter and Wighan Richardson. It had a lift capacity of 7,500 tons, and was 424 feet long. It had three separate independent compartments, that could be uncoupled when the drydock herself had to dock. Its pumps were powered by electricity from shore.
In September 1911 a second floating dock built by Swan Hunter arrived. Measuring 365 by 81 feet, it was somewhat smaller and lifted 4,200 tons.
The effect of the dry docks was huge. The total wages paid by Wilton in 1904 amounted to 594,237 guilders. In 1913 this was 1,819,795 guilders, three times as much in under 10 years. The tonnage of the ships that Wilton repaired showed an even more extreme expansion. On the slipways it grew in proportion to the number of ships serviced. On the drydocks it exploded to more than ten times the amount on the slipway.
+ Ships repaired by Wilton 1907-1913 Drydock(s) Slipways Year Ships R.T.B. Ships R.T.B. 1907 55 179,956 95 121,604 1909 198 658,405 99 106,718 1911 313 1,050,716 146 173,630 1913 490 1,644,810 114 144,423
Wilhelmina Drydock also known as Dok 3, was a floating drydock with a lift capacity of 13,000-14,000t. In September 1915 SS Insulinde was the first ship that used the dock.
Wilton quickly grasped that the Internal combustion engine, which led to the Motor ship would become important. In 1911 Wilton came to an agreement with the Nederlandsche Fabriek van Werktuigen en spoorwegmaterieel, later named Werkspoor. It resulted in a license to produce Diesel engines for ships.
World War 1 World War 1 started with some good years for Dutch shipping. Wilton also profited from an increased demand for ship repair caused by mines and torpedoes. In January 1916 the company was hit by a measure of the German government. It forbade the export of multiple kinds of iron, annulling existing contracts. New contracts could be made only at much steeper prices.
In Schiedam (1916)
Acquisition of grounds in Schiedam During the war the company considered the options for the post war period. The company could make a strategic choice for shipbuilding, advocated by younger brother Ir. Henry Wilton. An alternative strategy was to continue the focus on ship repair. The latter option probably necessitating investments to dock ships of up to 20,000 tons. Bartel Jr opted for the ship repair strategy. It led to the move to Schiedam. The move included an ambition to be able to repair the biggest ocean liners. The latter was supported by the Holland America Line, which foresaw that it would employ very big ships in the near future, and was looking for a docking facility. In 1916 a terrain of 56 ha was bought in Schiedam. In 1917 construction of a harbor on the terrain started, but the company did not move to the new grounds till after the war.
Expansion Strategy In 1919 the corporate strategy was further expanded. The idea was to be able repair and construct the biggest ships afloat. The company would build a double fixed drydock for building very big ships, the first of its kind in the Netherlands. Its size would permit the simultaneous construction of two ships of 200 m, or 8 ships of 100m each. If this new method of construction would prove effective another fixed drydock would be built for constructing ships of 300 m. A huge floating drydock of 40,000 tons would complete the picture. For Bartel Jr. the expansion into ship construction went too far, and in 1920 he resigned from his executive position.
Facilities in Schiedam The ambition to have a huge floating drydock was realized by buying the floating dock that Blohm + Voss had started to construct for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. It was bought in 1919, but it was July 1920 when it arrived in Schiedam. It was 211.8 m long, 51.2 m wide and 16 m high. During transport one of its 6 parts was carried as cargo. From July till April 1921 Wilton worked on completing this floating drydock, spending another 400,000 guilders. In April 1921 the dock was taken into use when it received the SS Rotterdam (1908) of 36,870t displacement, the biggest Dutch ship. Several government ministers and other dignitaries visited Wilton for the occasion. It was one of the decisive moments in Wilton's history.
The fixed construction drydock was also finished in 1921. Such a construction drydock was a novelty. It was not as deep as a regular fixed drydock, because new ships had a shallower draft. Two advantages for the shipyard originated from constructing on a horizontal surface. It made vertical placement of scantlings etc. much easier, and it led to a significant reduction in the cost of moving men and building materials vertically. A third advantage were the reduced cost of launching a ship. The huge warehouse (Scheepsloods) on the new terrain was made of reinforced concrete. At 165 m by 130 m it was supposed to be the largest of its kind in Europe with regard to total surface as well as surface spanned by its concrete arcs.