Attention stone - Schoenfabriek AH van Schijndel

Shoe factory AH van Schijndel (1910-1965) - Stationsstraat 115

The municipality of Waalwijk has placed 24 attention stones throughout the municipality. Both in Baardwijk (4), Besoijen (4) and Waalwijk (9) the selected locations played an important role during the municipal redivision in 1922. These stones are connected to the bicycle and walking route 'On the road in the historical Langstraat'.

The parental home of the Van Schijndel family, farmstead "Het Hof," was located on the "Heeren Straet" (Grotestraat) between Hoekeinde and Putstraat. The farmstead was surrounded on three sides by water (the Loint and the Putsteeglozing). Antonius Hubertus (Toon) van Schijndel learned the shoemaking trade in the workshop of J. Brouwers on the Hoekeinde, diagonally opposite the house where he grew up. In the middle of his apprenticeship, the Franco-German war broke out (1870) and the shoe industry turned into a very lucrative trade. Therefore, in 1873 Toon decided to establish his own shoemaking business. With the help of his father and financial support from his great uncle, he was able to start it on "Het Hof. In 1889, due to lack of space, he had to look for other accommodation. With the support of his father, he was able to move to a plot of land on the railroad line (now: Noorder-Parallelweg 19), where a colleague - Mr. Van den Bergh from 's-Hertogenbosch - had laid the foundations for a new factory with a residential house.
for a new factory with living quarters. Toon van Schijndel completed, albeit on a more modest scale, the plans of his predecessor. In 1895, competition for machine-made footwear from abroad became so great that Toon interested his brother-in-law, Herman KIütgen, a very wealthy man, as a financier to introduce mechanization.

Steam shoe factory
In 1900, Toon van Schijndel bought the last vacant lot in Stationsstraat and set up a steam factory there that met the latest technical requirements. On November 12, the factory was put into operation with the 'Original Goodyear Welt machine, the very first in the Netherlands. In 1906 an expansion of the factory followed and in 1909 the company A.H. van Schijndel obtained the designation 'Royal'. With 152 workers, it was one of the largest shoe factories in Waalwijk. A year later, the factory was expanded with a five-story office and production building with a monumental facade: Art nouveau elements in the nameplate 'Royal steam shoe factory A.H. van Schijndel' and decorative brickwork around the windows. The architect was H.C. Meulkens, his work was typical of the Waalwijk development of industrial engineering.

Golden jubilee
In 1923, the company celebrated its 50th anniversary. In 1928, the factory was rebuilt considerably and a year later a subsidiary was established in Goch, Germany. The latter did not turn out to be a good move, however, because just then the "Great Depression" (1929) broke out. Two years later, suspension of payments was applied for and layoffs followed for 220 employees. The designation "Royal" was lost in the process. Son Petrus, with money from his wife, was able to restart with 80 employees. In 1965, the factory was one of the first to close, heralding the demise of the leather industry in the Langstraat. The original facade of the main building still stands, it was later converted into apartments.