Five Brothers and a War

Bruynzeel

was unaware of the actions of Leendert, or vice versa . Most employees were very grateful for the manner in which the company looked out for them, though this was not universal. There always is a question regarding anything approaching collaboration. There were also people who were jealous of the relationship between Wim and Leendert. The facts of the criminal investigation were not conclusive, and the desire was to have Bruynzeel contribute to the reconstruction of the nation. There was a considerable lack of clarity and consistency between the actions of Cornelis, Kees, Titia and Wim Bruynzeel. The police report stated that "Old Mr. B. is not pro-German, but was anti-English, but believes that a businessman should not interfere with politics." Willem according to them was "always profoundly anti-German and pro-Dutch." That was different for Cornelis Jr. "Mr. C. Bruynzeel was somewhat pro-German and unable to cope with the exotic tendencies of his wife." The result of the investigation was to do nothing. Life moved on. The height of the company was in the mid-1960s when they had 28 factories in 14 countries, employing a total of 12,000 people. Then in the 1970s, the factories in Zaandam were split so that different products went into separate factories in a variety of cities. The floor factory went to Cadier en Keer (now Roosendaal), the kitchen factory and the pencil factory moved to Bergen op Zoom. The planing mill and veneer mills remained in Zaandam. Times became tougher for the firm as competition increased. The higher wages paid became a liability when a Frisian company, paying lower wages, took more and more customers away from Bruynzeel. The cost of living in Friesland was lower, creating a significant competitive advantage. The division that employed Leendert for all those years was sold several times, but ultimately to a Swiss firm in 2000. In late 2013, the new parent company refused to infuse any additional cash, and it declared bankruptcy. The kitchen division continues.

van Pelt

To this day, Bruynzeel has a store in Den Haag, though the company has largely been broken into pieces, sold off, and re organized.

Five Brothers and a War

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