Manufacturing industry

About raw materials and shiny enamel
Can we make it? Absolutely! The definition of manufacturing industry is the production of new products from materials. A branch of sport that continuously changes, innovates and responds to the possibilities but also demands of the times. The factories that once existed have now been written off, most of them demolished. Discover what industrial development means for the landscape. And along the way, think about what that landscape will look like later. What if most of our products will roll out of a 3D printer?

Apple sauce
The DRU was an enamel pan factory in Ulft. The first production took place at the end of the nineteenth century. Enamel is a glass layer that is applied to the metal in a liquid state. The most important property is protection against rust. Finally, the housewife no longer had to pay attention to what she put in the pan, as she had to do with copper pans. After sanding off the tin layer, you could no longer prepare acidic products such as apple sauce in it.

Steam carpentry
Here on the Stationsstraat in Wehl is a monumental 'steam carpentry factory' from 1909. Nowadays it would simply be called a sawmill. The factory was founded by Theodor Damen. In addition to being a factory owner, he was a contractor and architect. He also had a luxurious home built on the site. The factory fits perfectly into the emerging industrialization at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. The location was mainly chosen strategically: the sawn wood was transported by train via the newly constructed track. Major consumers of wood were the coal mines in Limburg, which used the planks to shore up mine tunnels.