Former Smulders Brick Factory

During the war this was used as a brick factory for the Germans and afterwards as a storage place for the air base.
The clay for the factory was extracted in the clay holes next to the factory.
The forest next door is full of holes, these are not bomb craters, but clay holes, the present fish ponds (once swimming ponds) are also old clay holes. After the war, surplus ammunition was thrown in here. Until decades after the war, bombs occasionally exploded, startling fishermen and killing the fish present. The holes have been cleaned up three times, the last cleanup has been thoroughly tackled, which means that the risk of explosions has now been reduced to a minimum.
The remains of the factory have recently been cleaned up. There are still some foundations, a piece of railway and ruins left. The former clay holes now serve as a fish pond.

A brief history:
1899. Twentse Stoomsteenfabriek Smulders & Mulder starts production with 70 workers.
1902. Build drying facility above and around the ring kiln.
1908. Build horse stable and two large four-storey drying sheds.
1909. Construction of an office.
1928. Build new and taller chimney.
1940. Factory is shut down. The Germans took the complex with railway and swimming pond into use. Under the authority of the German occupier, 3 million bricks are still being manufactured for the construction of the airport.
1941. The 63 meter high chimney is cut in half due to possible danger for landing aircraft.
1943. A large fire reduced the drying facilities and the oven to ashes, after which the Germans demolished the oven. After that, the rest of the building is used as a storage place. The dryers were already used to dry and/or store wood and other materials for the airbase.
After the liberation the company was completely ruined and the complex was bought by the municipality in 1949.

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Source

• Text: Alex Ossel
• Photos: Alex Ossel