ERIH-Ankerpunt DRU INDUSTRIEPARK

DRU INDUSTRY

The DRU in Ulft is a symbol of the Achterhoek's iron industry, which has caused a furor since the 18th century. For a long time, the DRU was the most important employer in the region. Meanwhile, the industrial activity has left. Almost all of the old factory buildings have been given a second life as industrial monuments.

Iron industry

The Oude IJssel region is also known as the cradle of the Dutch cast iron industry. In the 17th century, locally mined iron ore, the so-called primal, began to be smelted here in small blast furnaces. At one time the region with the neighboring German Isselgebiet and its tributary the Aa, had about ten iron foundries. In these private initiatives, wealthy citizens as investors often cooperated with the local nobility. For example, in the establishment of the "Ysermoelen" near House Ulft in 1754, the Count of Bergh was involved as a financier and landowner.

Iron hut

The blast furnace/iron foundry driven by a water wheel did not develop properly as Ulftsche IJserhut until Bernard Diepenbrock and his cousins Theodor and Bernard Reigers were put in charge of the company as tenants. They lived in Bocholt, Germany, where they also already owned an iron foundry. In 1811, the two families became owners of the factory and then the name Diepenbrock and Reigers Ulft (DRU) was born.

DRU

In the 18th century, the DRU factory mainly made hearth plates, cannonballs, pots and simple stoves. In the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, the product range expanded to include bathtubs, enamel work, sheet metal, machine parts, car parts and gas fireplaces. Around 1900 a new factory was built, the Oude IJssel River was diverted, and from then on there was regular expansion. Many of the buildings from that time now constitute industrial heritage. In the mid-1960s, some 1,500 people worked there and exports were made to 23 countries.

Repurposed

The 1970s and 1980s were difficult years for the company: mergers, quitting casting and enameling, layoffs, takeovers, splits. In 1999, DRU Heating left Ulft; DRU IP&S, the former stamping shop, went to the new industrial estate under the name Exerion. The industrial heritage became a national monument and a large-scale redevelopment was set up. Where the DRU used to symbolize the iron industry, today it is one of the most successful examples of reuse of industrial heritage in the Netherlands.

Today, the DRU Industriepark is the breeding ground for culture and innovation in the Achterhoek, managing and operating the glorious history of the DRU and the industrial national monuments on the park.

The DRU Industriepark houses various organizations that together offer an extensive program in the areas of culture, education, innovation, participation, tourism & recreation, history and media.

Porter Building

The Porter Building is one of the oldest complexes on the DRU site and actually consists of seven buildings attached to each other. At the front was the porter's quarters, then the canteen, mainly warehouses for the models (molds), the first enameling department, a laundry room, and the first stamping shop. Over the years, several sections were added and in 2009 these buildings were ingeniously connected by architect Kleinjans and Scheffer. Two new spaces were also built in and attached at that time: the theater hall and the pop hall. By preserving unique and original details and adding modern style elements, a very fascinating and surprising whole was created, with which the Portiersgebouw won the Achterhoek Architecture Prize in 2010.



Today, the Portiersgebouw is used as a stage location for (international) artists, as a meeting and event location for local to national meetings, as a library, as a space for (local) club life and as a council chamber for the city council.

Ketelhuis

In the Ketelhuis, located on the Oude IJssel, the steam boiler and steam engine of the old DRU iron foundry were located from 1895. From this building, the machines in the factory were then powered. Today, the building houses the Oudheidkundige Vereniging Gemeente Gendringen, among others. The OVGG, located in the "New Engine Room" also called "the little school," was at the cradle of the redevelopment of the DRU Industrial Park. Together with the Iron Museum initiative on the site, it still today opens up the history of iron and the region to the general public. The historic DRU film "Symphony of Fire and Iron"(1948) is also shown here for groups.

On the river side of the Ketelhuis is the old carpenter's room and the former panning room, now called 'the Ouhrlokaal', after the ferrous soil in the area. This room is an official wedding venue. The terrace on the Oude IJssel River near the Ouhrlokaal offers a beautiful view of the Achterhoek landscape.
 

Wage Bureau

The Loonbureau dates from around 1920. The Loonbureau housed the wage office and the drawing room. On Saturdays, the bosses would collect the wage bags from their departments here to distribute the weekly wages to the workers. There was also a small model storage area and the garage for the company's own fire hose was attached. Today, the Wage Office houses the regional media center Optimaal FM (radio) and REGIO8 (TV), which broadcast from the studios here. Also located here is the DRU Inspiration Point (DIP). This new visitor center offers visitors inspiration for discovering the region in a contemporary and industrial setting. In addition, the visitor information center for the DRU Industrial Park is housed here.

Afbramerij

In the Afbramerij, cast iron products used to be post-processed. The remains of moulding sand and the burrs (rough edges of the cast products) were removed by polishing, filing, grinding and sandblasting. An intensive and dusty job. Part of the current building, the tall Foundry Hall, was part of the old foundry, Foundry 1, which was demolished in 1973.
In 2014, the collaborative ICER opened here, with partners CIVON (Centrum voor Innovatief Vakmanschap Oost-Nederland), regional businesses, the Dutch Iron Museum and artists' collective Breekijzer. Since 2019, CIVON in collaboration with the ROC Graafschap College has greatly expanded its activities for education and smart industry. For example, visitors can learn about virtual reality and robotics.

Artist collective BREEKijzer holds regular exhibitions here; workshops are also available here, including blacksmithing. The core of the Dutch Iron Museum is still located here, e.g. the working model of the former blast furnace. Thus aspects of the past, present and future of metal and technology are discussed in the Afbramerij.

SSP Hall

The SSP hall is made up of four buildings and was built over a period of more than 40 years from 1922 to 1968: the former cupola furnace, the bathtub foundry, foundry 4 (with semi-automatic casting machines) and foundry 5 (with automatic forming sand preparation). When the foundries closed in 1973, the hall was used to manufacture stainless steel cooling tanks: large milk and beer tanks. (Stainless Steel Products = SSP).

The hall has a nostalgic industrial look with still an authentic travelling crane in the former bathtub foundry and, with a floor area of 5,500 m2, offers space for medium and large events, such as trade fairs, children's activities, Christmas market and the like.
The hall houses a partial collection of the Dutch Iron Museum, particularly former DRU products, which can be viewed on group tours.
 

Beltman Complex

The Beltman Complex is the name given by the municipality to the 1913 enameling factory. The building was designed by Gerrit Beltman, thus. Gerrit and father Arend Beltman, well-known industrial builders from the beginning of the last century, designed several buildings on the DRU site.

In the enameling factory, cast and sheet iron products, especially pots and pans, were enameled. There was also a large warehouse. An important part of the building is the high furnace hall, one of the first concrete portal structures in the Netherlands. The water tower no longer has a function, but has been preserved as a landmark element. Much of the building's shed roofs have been demolished; there is now a beautiful courtyard garden there. A part has been spared; that is now the canteen of Wonion's office.

Housing corporation Wonion owns the Beltman complex and has built 15 rental apartments there in the south wing. Wonion's own office is in the north wing, the former furnace hall. The first and second floors of the north wing house a number of private businesses.

Bathtub Factory

The Bathtub Factory was actually the bathtub enamel factory, where cast bathtubs were enameled and stored. It was designed in 1920 by Gerrit Beltman. The cast-iron bathtubs were a success and a new warehouse was soon added, creating the present L-shape. The landmark Bathtub Factory houses 18 private live-work lofts, all with a unique industrial atmosphere. Most are used only for living, some for living and working (studio). Again, part of the former production area with shed roofs was demolished, where a beautiful courtyard garden was created.

Chimney The Torch

Chimney the Torch is intended to be a monument to the worker. The factory chimney may be seen as an exclamation point of appreciation for the many people who gave their best efforts at the site and in the regional metal industry and who contributed to the socioeconomic strength of the region. The site once had eight chimneys, the last of which was demolished in 1986.

A specially created foundation worked to erect another chimney on the site. In 2014, the Monument to the Worker was realized.

Frank Daamen Building

The Frank Daamen Building was built in 1962 as the new DRU office with a spacious workers' canteen; a fine example of reconstruction architecture. It was purchased by the municipality in 2018 and is named after the director who led the DRU to great prosperity from 1959 to 1971. This building is the only one on the factory site that is not a national monument. It houses the start-up factory: an incubator for start-up companies and young, budding entrepreneurs working on innovation and Smart Industry. Talent that gives a new impulse to the manufacturing industry, the economic engine of the region.

(source: dru-industriepark.nl)