Bontamps envelope factory

In 1919, employees at the Bontamps envelope factory in Venlo glued 6,000 to 7,000 envelopes per day by hand in small quantities and out of date sizes

In 1919, after an apprenticeship period of 2 to 3 months, a young worker placed 80,000 to 100,000 unfolded envelopes per day on the rotating feed belt of the automatic gumming machine

The Bontamps envelope factory in Venlo was a leading envelope factory in the Netherlands .

history

The company was founded in 1734 by Hendrik Korsten in his house on the Maasstraat in Venlo as the first Venlo printing company. Initially, books and brochures of high quality were printed there, mostly on religious subjects, which sold well. From 1792 to 1794 the company published the first Venlo newspaper, the Algemene Staatkundige Nieuwsberichte , as a weekly . In addition to the location in Geldern , which had already been founded under the management of Hendrik Korsten, a branch was opened in Liège . With steam engines, production was expanded to include envelopes, exercise books, registers and other office materials. By 1900 the company employed about a hundred people who worked with the most modern machines.

After printing was abandoned in 1905, the company flourished in the first two decades of the 20th century, even during World War I. In the 1920s, however, the decline of what was once the most important Venlo company began. Due to strong competition from abroad (particularly Germany) and the establishment of two handling factories in Venlo, the company ran into difficulties. From December 15, 1935, the company was liquidated until it went bankrupt because the creditors rejected most of its claims.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Bontamps (company) In: LEM Historische encyclopedie Venlo (Gemeentearchief Venlo)