The rise of the steam engine marked the industrial revolution in England around 1750. The Netherlands followed 100 years later. Shoe factory Van Bommel presented itself as a ‘steam shoe factory’ at the end of the 19th century. In reality, Van Bommel was still a crafts company. However, adding the word ‘steam’ to the company name gave it a more modern and distinguished image among customers. The risk of being caught doing this kind of embellishment was minimal. Given that there was no internet, only scarce photography and media, and limited means of travel meant that customers would not easily discover the truth. Van Bommel brought up the rear in the Dutch industrialisation, mechanising with a suction gas engine in 1911.

(Image below: Machinist Kees van de Loo in 1922 at the new central power source of Schoenfabriek van Bommel. Through driving shafts and driving belts, this diesel engine set all machines in the factory in motion.)

The following years were tough. The industrialisation caused an overproduction in the country, resulting in plummeting prices. The year after major mechanisation, shoe factory Van Bommel turned a loss. The report for the financial year of 1912 cites a number of reasons for this: Insufficient production and turnover, obstructing renovations, the Balkan War preventing the delivery of a large batch of shoes to Turkey, costs for making large numbers of sample collections and high financing costs. The high costs of transitioning from manual to machine work almost proved fatal to the company, but Van Bommel pulled through.

(Image above: A rare photo of the interior of the old Van Bommel factory from the 1930s. On the ceiling, two driving shafts are visible to the left and right. Above each machine, a large pulley is attached to the driving shaft. A driving belt connects the rotating pulley to the machine and sets it in motion.)

(Image above: A letterhead of Schoenfabriek van Bommel from 1936 with the addition of ‘Steam Shoe Factory’ in the company name.)