Hosiery factory
This location is part of the Wet Blue route.
The building called "the hosiery factory" in Waalwijk is part of Karel van der Heijden's shoe factory, founded in 1886. Before building his factory, Van der Heijden, as a tanner and shoemaker, was already a contractor of large batches of shoes for the army. He has those shoes made by his home workers.
Shortly before his death in 1893, Van der Heijden, also known as "Charles the Bold," takes a step that was remarkable for the time: he appoints his daughter Jans as director of the shoe factory. Five years later, she decided to turn the glove factory into a machine factory. From that time dates the chimney, some of which still stands today.
After the marriage of Jan...
This location is part of the Wet Blue route.
The building called "the hosiery factory" in Waalwijk is part of Karel van der Heijden's shoe factory, founded in 1886. Before building his factory, Van der Heijden, as a tanner and shoemaker, was already a contractor of large batches of shoes for the army. He has those shoes made by his home workers.
Shortly before his death in 1893, Van der Heijden, also known as "Charles the Bold," takes a step that was remarkable for the time: he appoints his daughter Jans as director of the shoe factory. Five years later, she decided to turn the glove factory into a machine factory. From that time dates the chimney, some of which still stands today.
After Jans' marriage to Sebastian Maiburg in 1911, more and more emphasis is placed on trading activities and Van der Heijden gradually evolves from shoe manufacturer to supplier for the shoe industry. In 1932 the company name Van der Heijden is abandoned and the company continues as S. Maiburg N.V.
Meanwhile, the old part of the shoe factory was already taken over in 1929 by N.V. de Sport, which produced the famous Marathon sports shoes there until the end of 1936. When Marathon then decides to build a new factory on Burgemeester van der Klokkenlaan, the shoe factory on Kerkstraat becomes "the hosiery factory" in 1937 because Tricotage Factory SETA, manufacturer of ladies' artificial silk stockings, becomes the new owner.
After World War II, the SETA partners decided to go their separate ways and Theo van Wijck, under the name VeWe, continued production in "the hosiery factory. The range was gradually expanded to include work and sports socks, cuffs for gloves and luxury men's socks. After a few years (around 1954), ownership of the factory is transferred to the then manager Huub de Vaan and accountant Wout van Wel. Since their surnames coincidentally also begin with the V and the W, the factory can keep the name "VeWe. Due to reaching retirement age, Huub de Vaan's share is transferred in 1975 to his son Gerard de Vaan, who has been working in the factory since 1956. De Vaan and Van Wel decide to cease production and dissolve the hosiery factory on January 1, 1997.
In 2001, restoration of the former shoe factory began, which was symbolically completed with the transfer of the remaining part of the factory chimney to the city council in 2003. "The hosiery factory" has been a national monument since 2002, in which residences as well as business premises have been built.
