An exhibition organized by the Historical Archive Tuindorp Oostzaan (HATO) about 80 years of NDSM.
Precursor
In 1845, a site was purchased at Amsterdam-Oostenburg by the Royal Dutch Machinery Factory (later Werkspoor) for a shipyard where iron ships could be built. The Royal was liquidated in 1890 and continued in a streamlined form as Werkspoor.
Laid-off workers from the shipyard took the initiative to put the shipyard back into operation.
A fresh start
The new company officially started on August 25, 1894, under the name De Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij.
When the shipyard became too small for the increasingly large ships, a new shipyard was put into operation across the IJ, in Amsterdam-North.
NDSM
The Nederlandsche Dok Maatschappij, which primarily focused on ship repair, was located near the new shipyard. After the war, the two companies decided to merge and continue under the name NDSM: De Nederlandsche Dok- en Scheepsbouw Maatschappij.
Bloom
The company, involved in shipbuilding, ship repair, marine engine manufacturing, and marine equipment manufacturing,
flourished greatly during the post-war reconstruction years. Highlights included the launching of large ships, such as the 16,844 gross tonnage passenger ship Oslofjord in 1949 by the Norwegian Crown Princess.
In 1966, a large new headquarters was opened on Klaprozenweg.
Difficult times
The new headquarters, however, could not change the fact that there were problems in shipbuilding. The NDSM initially became part of the Verolme Shipyards. In the 1970s, massive reorganizations took place in the shipbuilding industry, during which the NDSM was split into ADM
(Amsterdamsche Droogdok Maatschappij) and NSM (Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij). Both companies were concentrated on the old NDSM site on Klaprozenweg.
The curtain falls
The NSM proved to be a problem child from the very beginning. Subsidies initially kept the company afloat. The substantial orders that came in in 1981 arrived too late.
In 1984, the curtain fell for the 400 employees of the NSM.
A few years later, the ADM was also closed.
