Nico ter Kuile & Zonen
A photo of the complete model of 65 x 10,5 cm. Center left the entramce door to the factory lying at the back.
The text on the facade's right reads: bathtowels, teatowels, handkerchiefs, tablelinnen damask
Short history
Map of all factories in the city of in Enschede in 1909. Source: book "Ter Kuile, een Enschedese familie en haar textielbedrijven 1780-2000" by Bastiaan Willink.
On a map of all factories in Enschede from 1909 three factories 'Ter Kuile' are mentioned. My model is the middle one: a small factory marked as 'bontweverij'* Nico ter Kuile.
Much is not know about this plant. It was - just like Ter Kuile Stroink - part of a larger company called "Nico ter Kuile & Zonen" (and Sons), that was founded in 1894 by Nicolaas Herman ter Kuile. Nico lived next to the weaving mill, in a villa that has also been modeled by us too. He could take a shortcut to his factory, that by the way also had an entrance from the Hengelosestraat.
*) Weaving mill for variegated fabrics.
In 1914 the double high factory hall got an extra one storey annex on the side of the Parkweg. Source: Stadsarchief (city archive) Enschede, dated January 3 1914.
Till the Second World War the factory was successful. It had to be extended and rebuild several times. In 1914 the old factory hall on the Stationsplein got an extra one storey annex built in the then ultra modern material of reinforced concrete. Here we can already recognise the right hand part of the model. It was designed by the well-known local architect Arend Beltman.
In 1950 right opposite of the factory the new train station of Enschede was opened. The old station Staatsspoor further down on the Parkweg had been damaged heavily during the war and could not be saved. The municipality did not consider the old factory complex to be a nice showpiece for the new entrance to the city. Hence it is decided in 1957 that both the Beltman wing and the older and messy factory halls on it's left would be 'walled in' in one new facade with large show windows. The characteristic neon letters on the roof were preserved and moved to the new facade.
The Beltman annex, before the 1957 modernisation. Source no longer known
After the war and with the independance of the former Dutch colony of Indonesia - an important market - the tides turned for textile in the Netherlands. Nico ter Kuile & Zonen did also not survive the crisis. After serveral mergers the production moved to the neighbouring village of Neede; in Enschede only a trading firm remains, that will still exist till 1979.
In 1964 the municipality of Enschede buys the weaving mill on Stationsplein and Stroink complex next to the railway line to Germany. In october '67 demolitions begin on the Stationsplein. Because of the holidays the shop windows were temporarily saved and even remained furnished. But in March 1968 the complete factory has disappeared. Only the ground floor remained and would be used as a basis for a parking lot for cars for the inner city for years to come.
Model
There are no drawings available of the modernisation of the facade in 1957. But the measurements of the right hand part can be easily taken from 1914 drawings by Beltman. The three windows per bay were just replaced by one big shop window.
The left hand side was a lot more difficult; there is only one photograph known of this part of the building; see below.
Luckily the total length of the building was known from drawings of the Stationsplein. So in the end it was possible to make a reasonable estimate of the measurments for the model.
The model is once again a combination of Forex (for the facades and columns, my own print work (for the shop windows and the lettering) and cardboard (for the construction).
Photo from the image bank of the Historische Sociëteit (Historical Society) Enschede - Lonneker from the middle of the 1960's.
Just like the villa of Nico ter Kuile on the corner of the Korte Hengelosestraat the model of the factory consists of a facade only. It is quite plain: 9 big shop windows with a sliding door in between (for the entrance way to the factory in the rear). Above that there are only plain faced panels, probably of concrete slabs. The only particulars are the neon signs. On the basis of photos the letters were individually drawn (in Sketchup), 3D-printed and glued on.
To make the model a little more interessanting I put a lot of effort into the shop windows. Even the spotlights of the line lighting systems in the ceilings have been recreated, with pins. So they do not work. That would have been a waste of effort for a model on the background of the club layout.
The shop windows on the left re all fantasy; from the original photos little was to be derived - apart from the lightspots. In the most right window a rack with 14 rolls of papieren 'fabrics' was installed. For the right hand shop windows see the photo at the bottom of this page.
(Naturally) MobaLedLib lighting was again built into the ceilings of the shop windows: 2 leds in those on the right and 1 in each window on the left. They have been programmed as TL-lighting: the light flickers on, shop window after shop window.
Above the sliding door a light is also installed. And a flashing light turns on as a warning sign, to clear the gate for upcoming traffic.
Video of the MobaLEdLib lighting in the model. After all shop windows are lighted, the lighting at the gate turns on (after approx. 18 seconds).
Justification:
If we would follow the correct time period (1970-1975), the model of Nico ter Kuile should not be shown on the club layout. After all the building had already be demolished in 1968. But I just found out that year, after the model was all but ready. Originally 1977 was considered to be the year of demolition. But that appeared to be the date of demolition of only the last remains of the complex, on Korte Hengelosestraat. After the main factory halls were taken down some offices and storage rooms more at the back remained in use, as part e.g. shops next door. Because a model is nicer than an empty plain gravel parking lot (the most likely appearance of the area in 1975) the model will be shown after all.
The show windows on the right are mainly fantasy. But e.g. the text TOSK(A?) and the sign of sport store Melching & Van Ulzen in the right hand window come from original photos.