{"id":2086,"date":"2025-11-27T08:02:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T08:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/?page_id=2086"},"modified":"2026-05-29T07:46:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T07:46:44","slug":"on-line-exhibit-dutch-match-industry","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/on-line-exhibit-dutch-match-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Netherlands match industry"},"content":{"rendered":"
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OCHA, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Exhibitors : Ad Jansen<\/a> and Hans Everink<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The match industry in The Netherlands began in 1844 when the Belgian Guillaume van Mechter founded a match factory in Rotterdam<\/strong><\/a>. In the 19th<\/sup> century the Netherlands was a land of farmers and the industrial revolution started rather late.<\/p>\n

Holland was always a small player in terms of overall production, but the labels it issued are highly sought after by collectors. In 1920 the industry was taken over by Swedish Match which reduced the export production to virtually zero.<\/p>\n

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Detailed history of Netherlands Match Industry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Below we present an introductory history of the Netherlands Match Industry, but if you would like a comprehensive, detailed history of the industry click on the Learn More button.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

The beginning, 1844 – 1880<\/h2>\n

In 1844 Guillaume van Mechter opened a match factory called “De Nijverheid” in Rotterdam, after moving there from Belgium. The factory closed in 1848 after Guillaume’s death, and unfortunately no labels have survived.<\/p>\n

In 1857 a factory was founded in The Hague<\/strong><\/a> by Jan Rudolf Frederik Nievergeld, but burned down in 1859<\/p>\n

In 1870, H.J. K\u00f6ster & Co. established a factory at the Drostenborg in Uiterburen near Zuidbroek with 54 employees, including workers from Germany. K\u00f6ster’s partners withdrew in February 1872. After K\u00f6ster won a lawsuit against them, he left for Germany on January 15, 1874, after which the factory burned down the same day. The operations were continued in Hannover. The matches were marketed either without a brand or with a Swedish label.<\/p>\n

In 1870, the factory Mennen & Keunen was established in Eindhoven<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 1870 Henry Sprengers started a factory in Teteringen\/Breda. After a fire it was taken over by Van Hoogendijk & v\/d Capellen, sold to Charles Johannes Loyens in 1885 and then to Eras & Paulson in 1907.<\/p>\n

In 1873, Hoogendijk established a match factory on the estate De Rotterdamsche Kopermolen in Wenum, which was moved in 1877 to Wormen near Ugchelen. This factory was closed in 1892.<\/p>\n

The factory of Dijkerman & Co was founded in Teteringen in 1873.<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n

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Vissers & Langemeijer label<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1880 to 1900<\/h2>\n

In 1880, Vissers & Langemeijer was established in Eindhoven. This factory was taken over by Mennen & Keunen in 1884.<\/p>\n

In 1881, a facility for the production of safety matches was started in Roermond by Gabri\u00ebls, Geelen & Co., a manufacturer of potato starch, grape sugar, and shoe polish. Production continued here until 1885.<\/p>\n

In 1882, Frederik de Leeuw established the Sallands T\u00e4ndsticksfabriks “De Ooievaar” in Deventer, which was taken over by the brothers Rudolf and Hendrik van Otterbeek Bastiaans. The factory was closed in 1889.<\/p>\n

In 1883, the factory De Eem of the firm Beuker & Van der Valk in Amersfoort began operations. It was closed in 1887.<\/p>\n

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VNLF labels, after 1887<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1887, overcapacity arose. The United Dutch Match Factories (VNLF) was established, consisting of factories in Eindhoven, Deventer, Amersfoort, and Apeldoorn. The latter factories were gradually closed.<\/p>\n

In 1895, Hermann Johann K\u00f6ster founded the Lumen Match Factory in Schiedam, which burned down in 1896. The factory was then continued in Amsterdam from 1897 to 1899.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
1907 labels from Breda<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 20th<\/sup> Century<\/h2>\n

In 1907, Charles Loyens’ Breda factory was sold to Eras & Paulson. Anders Paulson had invented a filling machine (Paulson had four patents: for inner and outer box machine, box filling and completing machine). <\/span>The factory was closed in 1967.<\/p>\n

In 1908, a match factory was established in Venlo, named Neuss & Co.<\/p>\n

In 1916, Charles Andr\u00e9 Loyens started a new factory in Roosendaal. Charles Andr\u00e9 was a son of a brother of Charles Johannes in Teteringen\/Breda<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
VNLF labels, pre 1920<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1920, the Swede Ivar Kreuger<\/strong><\/a> bought up all the remaining Dutch match factories in order to establish a monopoly. These included factories in Breda, Teteringen, Roosendaal, and Eindhoven. He merged them into the Vereenigde Hollandsche Luciferfabrieken (VHLF). The factories in Roosendaal and Teteringen were closed, and the remaining factories were incorporated into Swedish Match.<\/p>\n

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1936 labels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

In 1936, Frans Otten built a factory in Weert, which produced Vlinder Matches (with butterfly images on the label) and Weerter Matches. This factory was closed in 1967.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
1967 Molen lucifers labels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1967, VHLF built a modern factory in Eindhoven. Breda and Weert were closed. This is where Molen Matches (with windmills on the label) were produced.<\/p>\n

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1979 label<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

In 1979, production in Eindhoven was discontinued, and with it, the match industry disappeared from the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>
Blue border labels, 50 x 35 mm, about 1500 different names known<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bonus exhibit : Same label, different words<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

In The Netherlands a lot of labels were issued from the end of the 1950’s until the mid 1970’s with a same design layout. But all these labels have different names on them.<\/p>\n

In this Exhibit I will show you the most common labels that were available, as a sample of everything that was issued at the time. Although similar label designs can be found from Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and Finland, the labels I am exhibiting here are not commonly known outside The Netherlands.<\/p>\n

It is very difficult to get all these labels in your collection, as we are still discovering new labels which have not been documented.<\/p>\n

Click on an image in the gallery below to enlarge it.<\/p>\n

ngg_shortcode_1_placeholderClick here<\/strong><\/a> to return to the Exhibition Catalogue.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Exhibitors : Ad Jansen and Hans Everink The match industry in The Netherlands began in 1844 when the Belgian Guillaume van Mechter founded a match factory in Rotterdam. In the 19th century the Netherlands was a land of farmers and the industrial revolution started rather late. Holland was always a small player in terms of […] Read more<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2086","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2086"}],"version-history":[{"count":103,"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7222,"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2086\/revisions\/7222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phillumeny.com\/johnwalker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}