Dijkstraat 34 / Ludgerstraat 46, Aalten

Aaltensche Courant, 31 October 1947:

Ackerman & Kamphuis opens its new premises

Also marking the company’s 25th anniversary

On Wednesday afternoon, the new building, warehouse and offices of Ackerman & Kamphuis, wholesalers in groceries and flour and coffee roasters, were officially opened on the new Ludgerstraat in Aalten.

The spacious new main office, private office and meeting room were packed with interested visitors when, shortly after two o’clock, the senior partner, M. Ackerman, welcomed the many people present and reviewed the company’s recent history. On 24 March 1945, the warehouse, office and house on Dijkstraat had been completely destroyed within seconds by a bombing raid. Many people in the immediate area were killed, and the Kamphuis family also suffered the loss of a daughter.

Standing amid the ruins of what they had built up through years of hard work, Mr Ackerman said, the question arose: what now? Encouraged in part by the initiative of the younger generation, they decided to start again. They received tremendous support from Mr Rierink, who offered to house the business in his factory. Help also came from elsewhere, including the provision of storage space, because a wholesaler’s ability to operate depends entirely on having sufficient warehouse capacity.

Mr Ackerman then described the great difficulties and limited co-operation encountered from the ‘Wederopbouw’ reconstruction authorities when trying to obtain permission to build new premises. Co-operation with the municipal authorities, by contrast, was excellent, and the site on which the new building now stood had been chosen on the advice of the mayor and aldermen. The promised new street was also under construction and would, it was hoped, be completed shortly.

Mr Ackerman warmly thanked everyone who had contributed to the new building. The architect, contractors, painters, plumbers and suppliers had all delivered an exceptional performance, in striking contrast to the enormous difficulties that still had to be overcome in almost every field. He concluded by thanking all those present for their interest and invited them to tour the business afterwards.

The firm’s 25th anniversary

In May of that year, the company had marked its silver jubilee in a small private gathering, but the main celebration had been postponed until the opening of the new building. This was more suitable for representation purposes and made it possible to receive visitors. The day therefore had a double significance for the partners.

Joh. Heinen, who had been the firm’s bookkeeper since its foundation, congratulated the partners on behalf of the entire staff and recalled the pleasant atmosphere and co-operation that had always characterised relations between employers and employees. On behalf of the staff, he presented a fine painting depicting the former buildings on Dijkstraat.

Meanwhile, the office girls served tea, cakes and wine, while the gentlemen were offered something to smoke. The first group of visitors then began a tour of the building.

Despite the many restrictions imposed by obstructive authorities, the architect, Mr Hebly, had succeeded in designing an attractive and highly practical building that could be constructed with the materials then available.

For administration there was a spacious, light general office and a small dispatch office connected to the warehouse. A neat meeting room provided a quiet place for discussions of the kind customers sometimes wished to have with their suppliers. The staff’s gift had also been given a suitable place here.

The warehouse itself was a large steel-and-concrete space in which no timber had been used. The stored goods divided the room into sections, with aisles left between them so transport trolleys could be driven through to collect the quantities ordered from each category. Boxes and sacks were stacked in long rows, giving an impression of the large volumes handled by the company. A remarkable variety of goods for grocers, bakers, chemists and others was neatly arranged and stacked by type.

A separate room housed the coffee-roasting and packaging department, where automatic machines rapidly packed products to the correct weight. Coffee roasting was also automatic, using an ingeniously designed oil-fired roaster that transformed the dull, pea-like green coffee beans into the flavourful product for which the company had built an excellent reputation over the years.

Beneath the building was a large cellar where cheese, butter and bottled goods such as wines and jams could be stored free from frost and excessive heat. Here too, the wide variety of goods and the orderly way in which they were stacked was striking. In front of the warehouse entrance was a lowered loading area into which lorries could drive so that their floors were level with the paving. This made it possible to wheel trolleys directly into the vehicles and reduced the tiring lifting and carrying of heavy goods to a minimum.

In summary: a solid and highly practical building, favourably situated beside a street still under construction and the tram line. On the day of the opening, with the flag flying and dozens of cars parked in front and behind, it made a lively impression and stood as a symbol of the activity generated by trade.

Speakers offer their congratulations

Several visitors also addressed the partners. A representative of the Vivo organisation, architect Mr Hebly, contractor Mr Post and Mayor Van Veen on behalf of the municipal authorities all offered their congratulations on the opening and anniversary, to which we are pleased to add our own.

Nieuwe Winterswijksche Courant, 29 August 1966:

Vivo Aalten moves to Zutphen

Ackerman en Kamphuis N.V. (Vivo) substantially expanded its premises in Zutphen, adding about one third to the existing floor space. This was connected with the fact that most of the Aalten branch was being closed and transferred to Zutphen. The intention was to move the entire Aalten workforce — approximately 25 people — to Zutphen, bringing the workforce there to about 55. The extension was expected to be completed in just over a month. Ackerman en Kamphuis N.V. had established itself in Aalten more than forty years earlier. For several years, the company had also had large premises on the Zutphen industrial estate. Only a small warehouse would remain in Aalten.

Nieuwe Winterswijksche Courant, 11 January 1967:

Merger of wholesale companies

Ackerman en Kamphuis N.V. of Aalten-Zutphen and Handelsmaatschappij Sachtleven N.V. of Doetinchem, two long-established wholesale businesses, were to combine their operations. The Aalten branch had already been closed and transferred to Zutphen. The same would now happen to the Doetinchem branch, whose activities were to be absorbed into a very modern building that had recently undergone a major extension. Branch depots for collecting goods would remain in Aalten and Doetinchem. No employees would need to be made redundant; any surplus was expected to disappear through natural staff turnover.