Werkspoor

In March 1890 the predecessor of Werkspoor asked for an automatic stay. After many years of heavy losses the financial world lacked confidence in this predecessor, the Koninklijke Fabriek van Stoom- en andere Werktuigen. What was needed was a radical restructuring and new leadership. Because of the national and city interest, authorities intervened to bring this about. The mayor of Amsterdam G. van Tienhoven succeeded in engaging C.T. Stork (owner of the machine factory Stork) in the operation and to provide a good manager.

On 22 May 1891 a new company was founded named Nederlandsche Fabriek van Werktuigen en Spoorwegmaterieel (Dutch factory for tools and rolling stock). It bought all assets of its predecessor for 1,500,500 guilders, of which 920,500 went to a mortgage on the grounds of the factory. On 1 June 1891 C.H. Strumphler started as new CEO. The supervisory board was formed by: L. Serrurier of the municipal government of Amsterdam, C.T. Stork member of the Dutch senate, Jacob Theodoor Cremer and W.J. Geertsema of the House of Representatives, and two members representing a Dutch railroad: J.A. Roessingh van Iterson of the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij and H.J. Nivel of the Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen

When the company (re)opened on 1 June 1891 it had 124 employees. New work came in slowly at first. The confidence in the old factory had been damaged, and had to be regained by the new factory. It gained some small orders for the navy, but rolling stock manufacture helped the company through the difficult first years. The company also had to spend a lot of money to restore the lack of maintenance of buildings and machinery during the last years of the Koninklijke Fabriek. A lot of machines were too old and too costly to operate and had to be replaced. The complex also required multiple connections to the railroad system. In 1893 J.T. Cremer was approached to found a new shipyard, which became the Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij. It meant that the company lost the slipways in which so much had been invested. However, it gained a neighbor that was much better in building ships, and required a steady stream of ship engines.

In 1929 the telegraphy address Werkspoor would become the official name of the company. In 1954 Werkspoor was joined with Stork and became part of Verenigde Machinefabrieken Stork-Werkspoor (VMF).

Werkspoor was somewhat active in Dutch aeronautical industry. In 1925 it was involved in the construction of the first Dutch helicopter by Albert Gillis von Baumhauer. In 1930, KLM executive Albert Plesman ordered Werkspoor to create a cargoplane after a design by Joop Carley. The development of the Werkspoor Jumbo in cooperation with Pander & Son was plagued by the engine overheating. In 1931 the Jumbo made its first flight. The only specimen flew two years as a cargo plane for the KLM, and then seven years as a trainer. At the start of World War II, the plane was lost in a bombardment.

Werkspoor worked as a subcontractor for Fokker in the late 1930s. By February 1939, 500 of the 2,000 employees working for Fokker were working at the Werkspoor location Zuilen. These were woodworkers that had been moved because there was not enough room for them in the rapidly expanding Fokker factory in Amsterdam. The wings of the Fokker Fokker G.I, first flight 1937, were made of wood. While the wings of the first G.I. were not built in Zuilen, Werkspoor did built wing parts for the Fokker G.I.

In the 1950s the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States planned to build 460 Hawker Hunter fighter jets. In the context of a NATO plan, part of this would be financed by the United States. The engines would be built by FN in Belgium. For constructing the airplane a consortium was founded.

Fokker: principal contractor, also responsible for final assembly of the entire Dutch part and elements of the Belgian aircraft. Construction of the rear-part of the airframe.