90

WAREHOUSES  LN  FOREIGN  COUNTRIES,

THE  BLAAUWHOEDENVEEM.
The  following  information  about  the  Naamlooze  Vennootschap
Blaauwhoedenveem  is  taken  from  one  of  its  trade  circulars  and  from
other  publications  issued  by  it  : 0
The  company,  which  was  established  in  1616,  acts  as  forwarding  agents,
sworn  city  weighers,  lightermen,  wharfingers,  and  stevedores.  It  has  a  capital ­
  of  2,710,000  florins  ($1,089,420),  and  does  business  in  Amsterdam,  Antwerp,
and  Rotterdam.  Besides  conducting  a  storage  warehouse,  the  company  insures
goods  stored  and  issues  warants  on  which  advances  may  be  obtained.
At  Amsterdam  there  are  two  capital  warehouses  situated  on  the  principal
quay  (de  Handelkade).  These  establishments  are  divided  into  five  separate
premises,  called  by  the  names  of  the  continents,  Europa,  Azië,  Afrika,  Amerika,
Australie;  they  contain  323,000  square  feet  of  floor  space,  and  are  equipped
with  all  modern  facilities,  such  as  hydraulic  cranes,  lifts,  etc.,  and  electric
lights.  The  company’s  piers  are  connected  directly  with  the  Dutch  railroads.
At  Rotterdam  are  three  spacious  warehouses.  One  is  situated  on  the  Wilhelminakade
  and  comprises  three  separate  premises,  called  Scheepvaart  (navigation), ­
  Ilandel  (commerce),  and  Nyverlieid  (industry)  ;  these  are  also  provided ­
  with  electric  elevators  and  lighted  by  electricity,  and  contain  56,000
square  feet  of  floor  space.  Beneath  the  buildings  are  three  fire  and  water
proof  cellars  capable  of  containing  6,000  barrels  each.  The  second  building  is
called  Santos,  and  stands  between  the  Rhine  and  Maas  harbors,  and  is  specially
constructed  for  handling  and  storing  coffee,  with  cool  cellars  for  margarine,
oil,  wines,  etc.  The  third  building  is  called  Nederlands  Indie,  is  located  in  the
center  of  the  town,  next  to  the  company’s  coffee-shelling  works,  and  is  used  for
local  goods.  The  company  also  has  a  bonded  warehouse  called  the  Westelyk-Handelsterrein,
  which  is  composed  of  36  buildings  half  underground;  these
provide  accommodations  for  storing  fruit  at  low  temperatures  the  year  round.
The  following  is  from  a  publication  received  at  this  office  from  the
Naamlooze  Vennootschap  Blaauwhoedenveem:
The  history  of  this  company  dates  back  to  the  early  days  of  the  seventeenth
century  ;  but  judging  from  the  monopoly  it  possessed  even  then  in  connection
with  the  weighing  of  goods  at  the  public  scales  it  may  safely  be  accepted  that
Blaauwhoedenveem  existed  years  before  the  time  from  which  its  records  date.
For  a  couple  of  centuries  no  alteration  worth  mentioning  took  place  in  the
general  aspect  of  the  undertaking,  and  until  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century ­
  it  existed  on  a  comparatively  small  scale.  In  1857,  however,  Blaauwhoedenveem ­
  introduced  the  system  of  warrants,  depositing  the  necessary  security
with  the  States  Bank,  and  this  important  movement  resulted  in  a  rapid  development ­
  of  the  corporation,  which  still  further  increased  when,  two  years  later,  in
1859,  it  was  intrusted  by  one  of  the  biggest  Dutch  trading  companies,  De  Nederlandsche
  Handel-Maatschappy,  with  the  storing  and  manipulation  of  the  East
Indian  coffees  for  the  Dutch  Government.
The  prosperity  of  the  corporation  steadily  grew  until  increasing  trade  brought
about  its  reconstruction  as  a  joint  stock  company,  with  a  capital  of  750,000
florins,  under  the  name  of  Naamlooze  Vennootschap  Blaauwhoedenveem.  This
was  in  1886.  Before  the  nineteenth  century  drew  to  a  close  still  more  expansions ­
  were  witnessed.  Scarcely  five  years  after  the  formation  of  the  joint
stock  company,  Blaauwhoedenveem  acquired  the  control  over  the  Handelskade
Company  (Limited),  of  Amsterdam,  owners  of  a  big  modern  warehouse  at  the
Handelskade.  The  success  secured  with  this  new  type  of  warehouse  soon
induced  the  company  to  construct  another  warehouse  exactly  similar  to  the
first.  It  was  completed  in  1893.  These  splendid  buildings,  with  large  rooms
for  the  sorting  and  sampling  of  all  kinds  of  merchandise,  enable  Blaauwhoedenveem ­
  to  offer  its  clients  all  facilities  they  may  require.

«  Illustrations  of  various  buildings  of  this  and  other  warehouse  companies
at  Amsterdam,  with  diagrams  of  the  port  and  financial  reports  of  the  corporations, ­
  are  on  file  in  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Department  of  Commerce  and
Labor,  where  they  may  be  consulted  by  persons  interested.