Five Brothers and a War

Bruynzeel

Leendert began working for the Rotterdam-based Bruynzeel & Zn. (“Sons”) Wood products company about 1911, at the age of 24. The firm had its roots dating back to 1868 when Cornelis Bruynzeel Sr.’s father (also named Cornelis, though not referred to as “Senior” for some reason) partnered with C. de Haas in a company called C. de Haas Bruynzeel. When the de Haas partner died in 1892, Bruynzeel’s father took over the whole company. In 1897 the son (Cornelis Sr.) began his very own company, “De Arend” (“The Eagle”), which is still represented by the company logo to this day.

When Cornelis Bruynzeel Sr.’s two eldest sons were born (Cornelis Jr. “Kees”, in 1900 and Willem “Wim”, in 1901) the company was renamed C. Bruijnzeel & Zonen. Cornelis Sr. had traveled to America to see for himself how the biggest door manufacturing company worked, and was impressed by the level of mechanization, and their management theory. He came home and reduced working hours to 10 hours per day, and gave raises simultaneously, in a manner similar to Henry Ford’s assembly-line practices. He began the process of mass-producing doors, thereby reducing the cost per unit, and subsequently dominating the marketplace. The firm produced four out of every five doors sold in Holland and was the largest door manufacturer in Europe. Eight years after Leendert joined the company as a sales representative, the Rotterdam factory burned down. Bruynzeel rebuilt almost immediately in Zaandam, just on the northern outskirts of Amsterdam. Eventually, Kees Bruynzeel took charge of the door and kitchen manufacturing divisions while Wim Bruynzeel took charge of the flooring and wood veneer section—the first veneer factory in Holland.

van Pelt

< Cornelis “Kees” Bruynzeel, in a photo circa 1938.

> Willem “Wim” Bruynzeel, in a photo likely taken in 1968.

Five Brothers and a War

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