History book Home / Tank Storage / Our history Our history Royal Vopak can rely on 400 years of experience in storage and transshipment. The timeline below is a historical overview. 1461 First mention of Amsterdam Carriers 1565In the balance The activities of Vopak’s oldest forerunner, the Blaauwhoedenveem, took place in and around the weigh house in Amsterdam. The oldest weigh house was built in the fourteenth century, but the one pictured in this painting opened its doors in 1565. Read more 1602 Establishment of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), the world's first multinational 1616 The storehouses were first mentioned in a guild letter dated March 26. This date will later be taken as the date on which Blauwhoedenveem was founded 1616De Blaauwhoeden (The Blue Hats). p Source: Royal Vopak. 1617 Oldest known mention of Blauwhoedenveem by Dutch playwright Bredero appeared in his comedy The Spanish Brabander 1617A conservative estimate As long as historiography has existed regarding Vopak's oldest predecessor - the Blaauwhoedenveem - March 26, 1616 is taken as the founding date. Read more 1667The jewel of herbs The Europeans were introduced to tea in the second half of the seventeenth century. From 1667, the Dutch East India Company, or VOC, was one of the major importers of the herb from China. Read more 1717Gentlemen of the Warehouse The management and the organization of the VOC warehouses were supervised by the Commission of Commerce, also called the “Heren van het Pakhuis” (Gentlemen of the Warehouse). Read more 1720 Silver trowel with inscription, used during the laying of the foundation stone of the Nieuwe Magazijn (New Warehouse) of the Dutch East India Company in Amsterdam on April 18, 1720. This ceremonial task was performed by children of the directors of the VOC. When Pakhuismeesteren van de Thee was founded in 1818, it also used the new warehouse. Collection of the Amsterdam Museum. Photo: Tom Croes. 1795 Beginning of French period. The Dutch Republic falls under French influence 1798 The Dutch East India Company is dissolved 1807The start of a family business Filippus van Ommeren was born in Rotterdam on March 5, 1807. As soon as he was old enough, he was apprenticed to his father Jan van Ommeren, who was a shipbroker and shipping agent. In 1839, Filippus, who called himself Philippus from 1833, started his own business: the Phs. van Ommeren company. Read more 1815 The Kingdom of the Netherlands is established under the leadership of King William I 1816Free at last Officially, all guilds were abolished by constitutional amendment in 1798. These professional organizations, however, had been integrated into society so extensively for centuries that they remained functional for a long time. Read more 1818 Establishment of Pakhuismeesteren van de Thee (Tea Warehouse Keepers) in Amsterdam and Rotterdam The charter of Pakhuismeesteren van de Thee in Amsterdam, dated January 15, 1818. Listed at the top are the names of tea brokers and commissioners Voûte, Hageman, and Frymersum, and of warehouse keepers and founders Nolthenius and Van Eik. The warehouse keepers made a reference to their history with the red VOC seal on the left. Collection of Amsterdam City Archives. Photo: Tom Croes. 1828Unexpected competition In 1828, “Pakhuismeesteren van de Koffij” (Coffee Warehouse Keepers) was founded by coffee specialist P. ten Cate and Joshua van Eik jr., whose father was the founder of “Pakhuismeesteren van de Thee.” Read more 1830 The Netherlands introduces a system of forced farming in the Dutch East Indies: Indigenous farmers are forced to grow certain crops and to cede a part of it for export to the Netherlands 1835 Delivery of the first Java tea 1839 Founding of the Phs. Van Ommeren shipbroking company by Phillipus van Ommeren The ship Philippus van Ommeren starts its journey in Rotterdam. Drawn in 1839 by: Jo Spier. Collection of Rotterdam City Archives. 1850Jack-of-all-trades “Pakhuismeesteren van de Thee” in Amsterdam and Rotterdam were two separate companies, however they traveled the same path for a long time. Read more 1851 Rotterdam family De Monchy was involved with Pakhuismeesteren for generations. On the left, Engel Pieter de Monchy (1793-1883), who stood at the head of the Rotterdam company from the foundation of Pakhuismeesteren van de Thee. In the center, his son Salomon Jean René (1824-1917), who was warehouse keeper from 1851 to 1906, and, on the right, Engel Pieter de Monchy (1854-1942), who represents the third generation. The De Monchy's remained involved until the merger with Blaauwhoed in 1967. Collection of Royal Vopak. 1855 Phs. van Ommeren brings first sailing ship into service 1857 Blaauwhoedenveem becomes a general partnership. Start of professionalization The maturation of the storehouse Blaauwhoedenveem had long been the wealthiest and largest of the storehouses. Just like “Pakhuismeesteren van de Thee”, the storehouse issued warehouse receipts for the goods that it stored – negotiable title deeds. Read more 1858 Pakhuismeesteren van de Koffij (Coffee Warehouse Keepers) is dissolved 1860 First delivery of turpentine in Rotterdam is stored by Pakhuismeesteren 1862A flammable substance On June 30, 1862 an American ship entered the port of Rotterdam. This wasn’t an unusual occurrence, however this ship had a special cargo: barrels of petroleum. This very first crude oil cargo, which was introduced in Rotterdam, was stored by Vopak precursor Pakhuismeesteren. Read more 1865 Pakhuismeesteren commissions first petroleum complex in Feyenoord, Rotterdam 1865 In 1865, the municipality of Rotterdam expands with the addition of the island of Feijenoord. Pakhuismeesteren begins the operation of the first petroleum complex here. Collection of Rotterdam City Archives. 1867 Vriesseveem buys its first warehouses 1869 Opening of the Suez Canal 1870 The system of forced farming (in the Dutch East Indies) is abolished. Trade is liberalized 1871 Vriesseveem comes to Rotterdam 1872 Opening of the New Waterway, making the port of Rotterdam more accessible 1874Ousted by steamships During the nineteenth century the use of sailing ships came under pressure from the rise in steam shipping. Read more 1875 Pakhuismeesteren commissions the first petroleum storage in Charlois, Rotterdam 1875 Pakhuismeesteren commissions its first petroleum storage on Sluisjesdijk, Rotterdam. Collection of Royal Vopak. 1876 Opening of Noordzeekanaal (North Sea Canal) 1876 Blaauwhoedenveem completes its first acquisition by taking over Roodhoedenveem (Red Hats Storehouse) 1878Rotterdam, the port of the future Seven years after competitor Vriesseveem moved from the Amsterdam to the Rotterdam port, Blaauwhoedenveem followed its example. It opened a small office at Scheepmakershaven in 1878. Read more 1886 The Amsterdam and Rotterdam offices of Blaauwhoedenveem merge into Blaauwhoedenveem Inc. 1887 Pakhuismeesteren Rotterdam builds its first oil tank in Charlois, Rotterdam 1888 The Chester is the first tank steamer that moors at Pakhuismeesteren’s petroleum tank in Rotterdam, completed that year 1891 Handelskade Inc. in Amsterdam is completely taken over by Blaauwhoedenveem Van Ommeren’s first steamship A friendly English shipowner introduced Philippus van Ommeren’s grandson to the concept of a single ship company in 1889. Despite the bad experiences of his grandfather twenty years earlier, he decided to move into the shipping business. Read more 1895 The formal difference between Pakhuismeesteren’s storage of tea and of other goods in Rotterdam disappears 1896 Establishment of Nederlandsche Veem (Dutch Storehouse) 1899 Philippus van Ommeren establishes shipping company Stoomvaart-Maatschappij De Maas The first share in Stoomvaart-Maatschappij De Maas Collection of Rotterdam City Archives. 1903Thanks to Deterding Around 1900, Henri Deterding, chief executive of Koninklijke Olie (Royal Dutch Petroleum), wanted to gain a foothold in the port of Rotterdam and from there launch an attack on the monopoly position of rival Standard Oil in Germany. Read more 1905 Vriesseveem is the first storehouse outfitted with a refrigerated warehouse 1910 Philippus van Ommeren III establishes storage company Matex in Vlaardingen 1913 Construction of the grain silo complex St. Job Blaauwhoedenveem surprised major competitor Vriesseveem with the construction of the huge grain silo complex and warehouse, St. Job, in Rotterdam. Collection of Royal Vopak. 1914 Start of the First World War 1916Cotton Storehouse: a taste for more In a period in which the storehouses competed fiercely with each other in the port of Rotterdam, some of them also entered into partnerships. Read more 1917 Blaauwhoedenveem-Vriesseveem created from a merger between Blaauwhoedenveem and Vriesseveem 1918 End of the First World War 1919 From 1919, Blaauwhoedenveem-Vriesseveem operated a subsidiary in the United States, called Bluefries. Until 1940, Bluefries operated from New York City as a shipping agency and warehousing company. Collection of Royal Vopak. 1920Working at Blaauwhoedenveem, an impression p Source: EYE. 1928 First foreign terminal of Van Ommeren: Zeematex in Zeebrugge, Belgium 1929 Van Ommeren sells Matex to the Batavian Petroleum Company. In December of that year, he founds the New Matex, based in Vlaardingen. Four months later the tanks are ready Van Ommeren's tank storage Spurred on by Henri Deterding, chairman of Royal Dutch Petroleum, the forerunner of Royal Dutch Shell, Philippus van Ommeren entered into tank storage in 1910. Read more 1932 The VT Group (Verenigde Tankrederijen) is founded. This is a joint venture between New Matex, Pakhuismeesteren, Tankmaatschappij Dipping, and Phs. van Ommeren 1932Rotterdam Mayor Droogleever Fortuyn on the opening of the First Petroleum Port p Source: Beeld en Geluid. 1935 Pakhuismeesteren establishes itself in Pernis, Rotterdam 1940 Start of the Second World War. Rotterdam is bombed on May 14 and the Netherlands surrenders 1942 Philippus van Ommeren’s private companies are sold to Van Ommeren Inc. These include VT, Imatex, Zeematex, and Amatex 1944Destructive occupation In September 1944, the Allies recaptured the port of Antwerp from the Germans. To halt an Allied advance, Berlin ordered the destruction of port facilities in the Netherlands. Read more 1945 The end of the Second World War. Blaauwhoedenveem-Vriesseveem, Pakhuismeesteren and Van Ommeren have suffered an enormous damage. Installations have been destroyed and the substantial fleet of Stoomvaart-Maatschappij De Maas has largely been lost. There were also many casualties among the employees of these companies 1947 Merger between Stoomvaart-Maatschappij De Maas and Phs. Van Ommeren Scheepvaartbedrijf 1954 Blaauwhoedenveem-Vriesseveem continues as Blaauwhoed and starts to diversify. Alongside storage activities, the company also ventures into real estate From storehouse to real estate Blaauwhoedenveem-Vriesseveem traditionally leaned heavily on the storage of colonial goods. The flow of these products dried up during and after the Second World War when Indonesia gained independence from the Netherlands. Read more 1957 Blaauwhoed takes over a cold store for hides in Rotterdam Twenty degrees Celsius below zero. p Source: Beeld en Geluid. 1957 Pakhuismeesteren starts using a new terminal in the Rotterdam Botlek area. Two years later, Van Ommeren follows suit with the opening of Matex Botlek. 1959 Pakhuismeesteren Rotterdam takes over the Amsterdam branch 1962 Blaauwhoed becomes a holding company. The separation between Amsterdam and Rotterdam lapses Stronger together After World War II, the Amsterdam and Rotterdam offices of Blaauwhoed developed into two separate companies, each with its own management and commissioners, who developed their own vision of the future. Read more 1964 In 1964, Van Ommeren opens its new headquarters: Westerlaantoren in Rotterdam. Collection of Rotterdam City Archives. 1967 Pakhuismeesteren and Blaauwhoed (which had recently changed its name to Blauwhoed) merge into Pakhoed. In the years prior to the merger, they both took over several companies 1969 Pakhoed begins operating new terminals in Europoort. This doubles its tank capacity 1974 P.J. van Ommeren is the last Van Ommeren to leave the company Deer Park in Houston. Collection of Royal Vopak. 1975 Pakhoed increases its share in French road transport company ONATRA to 100 percent. It becomes part of Paktrans 1975 Pakhoed opens a terminal on Bonaire in the Caribbean: BOPEC. It is sold in 1989 1976 Pakhoed takes over Robertson Distribution Systems (RDS) and acquires the Galena Park and Deer Park terminals in Houston, U.S.A. 1983 Pakhoed takes over Pandair. This component is divested again in 1987 Battle for Singapore In 1980, Van Ommeren started to investigate the possibility of opening a terminal in Singapore, which, with its growing port and strategic location, looked very promising. Read more 1985 Pakhoed divests real estate branch Blauwhoed 1987 Van Ommeren merges with Ceteco. For a while, the company is called VOC VOC, no happy marriage “Ceteco's considerable experience and substance in trade, the good profitability of its activities, and its human resources pool, coupled with Van Ommeren's financial strength and commercial experience, is considered to be a strong combination by both." Read more 1988 Pakhoed acquires Gebr. Broere 1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall It has pleased the Queen On May 25, 1989, Van Ommeren, which at that time was merged into VOC with Ceteco, celebrated its 150th anniversary. As a highlight of a gala performance at the Rotterdam Theatre, VOC received the designation 'Royal'. It was presented by S. Patijn, the Queen's Commissioner in the Province of South Holland, to Ir. W.H. Brouwer, the then chairman of VOC. Read more 1990 Pakhoed takes over Furness 1990 Completion of Pakhoed terminals on Pulau Busing in Singapore 1992 Van Ommeren sells Ceteco 1993 Pakhoed sells container terminal Unitcentre to Europe Combined Terminals (ECT) Unitcentre at Pier 6/7 in Waalhaven. Photo: Dick Sellenraad. Collection of Royal Vopak. 1993 Pakhoed opens Tallinn terminal in former Warsaw Pact member Estonia 1994 First Van Ommeren terminal in China: Ningbo 1996 Pakhoed extends its share in trading firm Univar to 100 percent New entries thanks to chemistry In 1986, Pakhoed acquired a 35 percent stake in American company Univar and, a few years later, 49 percent in the European branch of the same company. When the takeover was completed in 1996, Pakhoed became the world's largest chemical distributor overnight. Read more 1998From mutual differences to combined forces Before Van Ommeren and Pakhoed finally merged in 1999, several previous merger talks had amounted to nothing. Although they agreed that it would be a logical move to have the two Rotterdam companies reinforce each other worldwide rather than compete with each other, they failed to reach an agreement. Read more 1999 Opening of terminal in Fujairah (United Arab Emirates) Opening ceremony in Fujairah on January 20, 1999. Collection of Royal Vopak. 1999 Merger of Pakhoed and Van Ommeren into Vopak 2002 Demerger of Univar. Vopak focuses on tank storage 2009Part of the gas hub The Gas Access To Europe (Gate) terminal in the port of Rotterdam is the first LNG terminal in the Netherlands. Read more 2011Opening of the Gate terminal p Source: Gate LNG terminal 2014 Commissioning of Pengerang Independent Terminals in Malaysia 2016 400th anniversary of Vopak Vopak's headquarters in Rotterdam. Collection of Royal Vopak. 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