HaVeP (B.V. Textielfabrieken H. Puijenbroek) is a family
business in Goirle (Netherlands) owned by the Van Puijenbroek family. The
company was founded in 1865 and manufactured linen and from 1935 manufacturer
of workwear.
The company was founded in 1865 by Henry of Puijenbroek and
expanded in 1891, the looms now powered by a steam engine. After the factory
was taken over by five sons in 1901, a strike broke out in 1904. The reason for
this was that the weavers were allowed to work only three days and were paid no
wages for the remaining days during the summer months. Also, seven workers were
laid off immediately and all the older weavers had to leave the firm before
1915. The strike was eventually won by the (Catholic) union after mediation by
Alfons Ariƫns.
Weaver standing in front of a loom, 1884, Vincent van Gogh
In 1908 there was another strike. This occurred as a result
of the decision to mechanize the wallpaper production, hitherto manufactured by
weavers from their homes. It was decided that none of the weavers would do
this. When the work was actually refused, practically all employees were denied
access to the factory the gates were closed.
In unison, all other companies in Goirle (except Van Besouw)
joined the strike. All this led to major conflicts that would take a long time
to solve completely. However, home weaving was at its very end by 1908. The
firm A. Spapens-Huijbregts, which almost exclusively worked with home weavers,
closed in 1920.
In 1917, the supply of raw materials was disrupted so much
by WWI, that HaVeP closed shop and only restarted in 1919. The economic crisis
of the 1930s led to more great difficulties. In 1932, half of the staff was
fired.
In 1933 HaVeP started manufacturing woollen clothes and in
1935 the production of workwear. The mobilization (pre WWII) brought orders
from the army and in 1939 a record number of 1,200 employees worked for HaVeP. In 1944, the company started working on
shirts for the Canadian Army (after the liberation of the southern part of the
Netherlands by Canadians) and in 1945 HaVeP made uniforms for the Dutch
soldiers who were fighting the independence fighters in the Dutch Indies (Indonesia).
The company expanded further with its own mill in 1959. Workers
were hired from near and far, by 1965 the company opening workshops in Hattem,
Apeldoorn, Eindhoven and Meerhout (Belgium). Later part of the production moved
to low-wage countries such as Macedonia (1968) and Tunisia (1975). In 1985, a
new weaving mill opened while 1992 saw the end to the large military orders. In
2004, the mill in Tilburg was closed and a new modern weaving mill was built in
Goirle.
The machine house from 1891 is classified as a national
monument. It contains an almost entirely complete steam engine supplied by
Werkspoor.
The parent company of HaVeP, Koninklijke Van Puijenbroek
Textiles, produces a variety of protective workwear, including the original
workers jacket 3014.
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