The story
Founded by Cornelis Verolme in 1957.1
Foundation
The company was founded in 1957 by Cornelis Verolme as Verolme Dok en Scheepsbouw Maatschappij (VDSM). In 1955 Verolme owned Verolme Verenigde Scheepswerven, a collection of two small Dutch shipyards and a small machine factory. Nevertheless, he decided to construct a huge shipyard, capable of meeting the demand for ever larger ships. Meanwhile, the Port of Rotterdam Authority was developing the Botlek industrial and harbor area near Rozenburg. In this empty space close to the sea on the deep Nieuwe Waterweg, Verolme wanted to realize his vision of shipbuilding and repair. Various slipways, drydocks and floating docks were built in the late 1950's, enabling the construction of supertankers and conversions of aircraft carriers. In 1970 a huge 405 x 90 m. drydock (dock nr. 7) was added.
RSV (1971-1983)
In 1971 the holding Verolme Verenigde Scheepswerven fused with Rijn-Schelde Machinefabrieken en Scheepswerven NV to become Rijn-Schelde-Verolme (RSV). RSV existed from 1971 to 1983 and ended in a financial catastrophe.
Verolme Botlek
The shipyard survived the dissolution of RSV. In 1981 it was renamed Verolme Botlek
Keppel Verolme
In 2002 the shipyard was bought by Keppel Corporation, and was henceforward known as Keppel Verolme.
From Wikipedia’s article on Damen Verolme Rotterdam, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3