J. & K. Smit was a Dutch shipbuilding company located in Kinderdijk and Krimpen aan de Lek. Its successor is now part of Royal IHC.
Context
J. & K. Smit shipyard was one of multiple shipyard belonging to the Smit family. In 1785 Jan Foppe Smit (1742-1807) and his brother Jakus took over a shipyard in Alblasserdam, near the border with Nieuw-Lekkerland.
After they were established, Jakus built another shipyard north of the one they had, and after he left in about 1800, this was joined to the family business. Jan Foppe's oldest son Fop then joined the business. By 1805 it had 10 workers, and build rivercraft, some of them of the smallest type. On his death, Jan Foppe was wealthy. He had two shipyards, several houses, 18 hectares of land multiple (parts in) ships, as well as many securities. He had three sons and two daughters:
Fop Smit (1777-1866) Jan Smit (1779-1869) inherited his father's shipyard in Alblasserdam, and worked in partnership with Fop from 1824 to 1828 Cornelis Smit (1784-1858) Founded his own shipyards near the harbor of Alblasserdam and in Zierikzee, and a patent slip in Papendrecht.
Jan Smit married Teuntje Rijs in 1814. They had 10 children, of these: Ottolina Smit (1822-1898) married Murk Lels in 1846 Jan Smit (1824-1911) married Johanna Maria de Jager in 1847 Kornelis Smit (1826-1910) married Geertruida Gerarda Aalbers in 1849
Foundations
Jan Smit, Kornelis Smit and Murk Lels
Jan Smit and Kornelis Smit started two shipyards. The first was started in 1847 in Kinderdijk, municipality Nieuw-Lekkerland. The second was in Krimpen aan de Lek. Later, the first continued to be managed by Jan, while the Krimpen aan de Lek shipyard was managed by Kornelis.
Murk Lels (1823-1891) was born in a family of seamen from Frisia. He had gone to sea at age 14, but stayed on shore since 1845. He became the brother in law of Jan en Kornelis Smit by marrying their sister Ottolina. Murk became the manager of a shipping line to the Dutch East Indies for which J. & K. Smit built about 10 ships. By 1869 he managed 9 ships of 7,248 ton. Murk lived in the Huis te Kinderdijk. In 1864 he founded De Coningh, Carst en Lels in Kanagawa, later known as Carst, Lels & Co. in Yokohama. He also traded a lot with China, and founded the coffee company Bendo in Banyuwangi on Java.
Shipyard in Kinderdijk The first ships built show just how important Murk Lels was. On 30 August 1848 the J. & K. Smit shipyard on the Kinderdijk launched the Barque Eersteling ('the first') of 450 Java lasts, for the shipping line Murk Lels from Kinderdijk. When this ship sank on its first trip, it did not deter Murk. On 30 August 1849 the Barque Kinderdijk of 357 lasts (laid down 30 August 1848) was launched for the same. On 26 April 1851 the shipyard in Kinderdijk launched Cornelis Smit of 400 last for Murk Leis in Alblasserdam. On 7 April 1852 the barque Otto of 371 last was launched in Kinderdijk for Murk Lels.
The next years show that J. & K. Smit soon had two, possibly even three slipways in operation. On 19 May 1853 the barque Ottolina of 370 last was launched in Kinderdijk for Murk Lels. On 4 June 1853 the barque Luctor et Emergo of 300 last was launched for Borsius en van der Leije in Middelburg. On 9 August 1854 Susanna en Elisabeth of 390 last (laid down 28 June 1853) was launched for Borsius en van der Leije. On 17 August 1854 Egmond en Hoorne of 400 last (laid down 19 May 1853) was launched for E. Suermondt en Zn. en Co. from Rotterdam. On 15 March 1855 the barque Johanna en Geertuida of 400 lasts (laid down 5 August 1853) was launched for Murk Lels.
Shipyard in Krimpen aan de Lek The shipyard in Krimpen aan de Lek was the first and only shipyard in that village, and was built in the summer of 1854. In November of that year the repair of the barque Padang was the first job for the shipyard. It soon after started to build ships. On 10 November 1856 the barque Krimpen aan de Lek of 380 last was launched in Krimpen for Murk Lels.
Dehulling mill On 1 May 1854 K. Smit and B.J. Aalbers, (dehulling miller) both from Nieuw Lekkerland, started a partnership. The partnership would be a business in trading and dehulling cereals. In effect 'dehulling' was about dehulling barley, which has to be done before barley can be grinded. Since 1639 there were special wind mills in the Netherlands which could do this. However, this required a lot of force, and therefore a wind of at least 6 Beaufort. Already in February 1854 K. Smit had advertised for a machinist. It shows the entrepreneurial spirit of K. Smit and the role of family relations in their network. Kornelis married Geertruida Gerarda Aalbers in 1849. In 1887 a fully operational (steam dehulling mill) was for sale in Kinderdijk.
History of the privately owned company
Iron vessels In 1855 J. & K. Smit got a prestigious assignment. On 21 July 1855 it laid down the iron steamers Telegraaph No. 1 and Telegraaph No. 2. These were meant for a fast line between Rotterdam and Antwerp. They would get a luxurious interior and arrangement to guarantee high speed. The machines were built by Fijenoord. On 22 March 1856 Telegraaph No. 1 was launched. It seems that this was also the first iron vessel by J. & K. Smit.
Even while these two vessels were under construction, the iron steamer Stad Heusden was laid down in early January 1856. She was launched on 31 July 1856. On 12 January 1857 the shipyard launched Prins van Oranje, an iron steam 'yacht' for the shipping line Zaanlandsche Stoomboot Rederij, between Amsterdam and Zaandam.
Warships On 3 March 1858 J. & K. Smit got an order for two Vesuvius-class sloops for the Dutch navy. These were first thought to be named Het Loo and Reteh (ex-De Sprinkhaan), but these would be built elsewhere. J. & K. Smit built Cornelis Dirks and Reinier Claeszen. On 11 January 1859 the shipyard in Krimpen aan de Lek launched Cornelis Dirks. On 13 January 1859 Reinier Claeszen, was launched in Kinderdijk.
Machine Factory Diepeveen, Lels en Smit, later Machine Factory Kinderdijk On 31 March 1856 the machine factory Diepeveen, Lels en Smit was founded. In fact it was a partnership between B.J. Diepeveen, M.H. Diepeveen, Murk Lels, Leendert Smit Fopzn., and Jan Smit Janzn (our Jan Smit of J. & K. Smit). The first three of these had authority to act for the firm.
On 25 March 1858 J. & K. Smit in Kinderdijk launched a screw steam river vessel with machines made by Diepeveen, Lels en Smit. It was the first ship that was delivered from Kinderdijk including machines. In July 1859 another iron yacht was delivered with machines by the same factory. Diepeveen, Lels en Smit would later be renamed Machine Factory Kinderdijk. It would have a long history, with parts of it still existing today.
This factory, and other companies in the vicinity provided an industrial infrastructure. The shipyards in the area could pay lower wages than e.g. Fijenoord in Rotterdam or Van Vlissingen en Dudok van Heel in Amsterdam, because the cost of living was much lower. Prices for raw materials from the upper Rhine were also good in Kinderdijk. Nevertheless, if J. & K. Smit wanted to compete in the market for steam ships it needed to have the expertise and the parts close at hand. In March 1869 Smit and other industrials in the area would give an example of their understanding, when they asked the municipality to improve expanded primary education, and offered 1,075 guilders a year to do this. The start of the first public powerplant of the Netherlands in 1886 is another example of this infrastructure. (The shipyard itself would be working with electric lighting starting in 1881.)
Very strong position in inland navigation In the 1860s the ship yard built a large amount of iron screw ships for inland shipping lines. Each time with machines from Diepeveen, Lels en Smit. In November 1860 the screw steamer Noord-Brabant and a sister ship were launched. These were to replace the 4 sailships of the Rotterdam - 's-Hertogenbosch line. Soon the shipyard was building for shipping lines to Utrecht, Dordrecht, Harlingen, Breda, Schiedam, Oosterhout, Delft, Doesburg, Almelo, Zwolle, Lemmer etc. etc.
A special case were the river ships with two screws, e.g. Pollux of 180 lasts and 45 hp. In the late 1870s the shipyard also built some ships with machines built by others. This development was largely reversed when Diepeveen, Lels en Smit started to build compound engines. In June 1884 Smit launched Victoria, a passenger ship for use on the south coast of England. Which was remarkable, because English shipping lines generally did not order ships abroad. The construction of these kinds of river ships would continue in the 1880s.
In 1862 J. & K. Smit got a permit for a tug service in South Holland, Gelderland, Zeeland and North Brabant. In 1863 the shipyard made an offer to construct Onrust Dock of 3,000 tons, but offered too high.
On 1 January 1887 one new screw steamship was under construction, and three were getting rebuild. On 1 January 1891 J. & K. Smit had 2 paddle steamers and 1 screw boat under construction. The paddle steamer Culemborg of 56 by 6.5 m and 250 ton was launched in August 1891 had an engine by De Schelde. This compound machine of 325 ihp worked with 90 pounds steam pressure, and was installed in Vlissingen. Afterwards Culemborg had to return to the shipyard to be finished. In 1893 J. & K. Smit finished Stad Rotterdam of 40 by 6 m and 160 ihp.
In August 1899 the shipyard launched the steel screw ship Kampen for the Amsterdam Zwolle line. She was 47 by 6.25 by 3.10 m. In October 1899 the shipyard launched a sister ship Zwolle, and laid down two comparable ships, Heerenveen and Bolsward to serve on the Amsterdam Lemmer line. In May 1902 a comparable ship Zaandam I of 43 m, and with 210 ihp machines by Diepeveen, Lels and Smit was launched. She was followed by Zaandam II in June. In 1903 the Fop Smit line from Rotterdam to Gorinchem commissioned President Kruger and President Steyn, two paddle steamers. In September 1903 another river ship Maasnymph was built by the Krimpen shipyard. In October 1903 this shipyard launched Telegraaf VI for the Rotterdam Antwerpen line.
In 1904 J. & K. Smit delivered three 450 ton river steamships Winterswijk, Beverwijk, Harderwijk to the Koninklijke Nederlandse Stoomboot-Maatschappij, which established a daughter company Nieuwe Rijnvaart Maatschappij.
Continues to build sailing ships
While the Kinderdijk shipyard seems to have focused on inland screw ships, the shipyard in Kinderdijk continued to construct sailing ships at a moderate pace. In June 1861 the shipyard in Krimpen launched Batavia of 400 lasts for Murk Lels. In 1863 the Krimpen yard launched the frigate Kanagawa of 630 lasts. This was a composite ship. Iron on the inside, wood on the outside. It was launched for Lels and Smit. In March 1870 a new frigate Ottolina was launched. That same year the Krimpen shipyard also launched an iron screw ship for inland navigation.
In September 1884 the iron barque Krimpen aan de Lek was laid down in Krimpen. She was launched on 18 September 1885. On 1 January 1886 and 1 January 1887 the iron barque Anna Aleida (launched November 1886) was under construction. On 8 March 1891 the barque Martina Johanna was launched for P. van der Hoog, and a steel four mast ship of 3,400 ton was laid down. This ship, Jeanette Françoise, was launched on 1 December 1892, and was the biggest sailing ship built in the Netherlands up to that day. In early April 1894 the Kinderdijk shipyard launched the steel three mast schooner Zwijger of 325 ton.