The site of the current Center of Excellence has a rich and layered history dating back over a century.
Early plans for the site
In 1916, records show that part of the location was originally intended for a warehouse storing wooden crates.
From paper to reality
By 1933, a permit was issued for the construction of a single-storey garage, marking the first phase of the building we see today.
Photographs from the time suggest that the building was completed by around 1935, replacing a shop or bar and a warehouse that previously occupied the site.
Expansion and Enterprise
A few years later, in 1939, permission was granted to expand the structure with two additional floors.
The building’s original purpose remains somewhat unclear, but it may have served as a warehouse. This theory is supported by the founding of the Noordhollandse Margarinefabriek (NOMAFA) in the 1930s, a company known for producing margarine and trading in oils and fats.
Foto AVIODROME Lelystad. 24th September, 1937.
This photo captures the original single-storey building that would later become our Center of Excellence. It was located next to the “Kampen” warehouse
The Changing Landscape
The surrounding area has also evolved significantly over time. Adjacent to the Center, where our building’s glass extension now stands, was once a cheese storage warehouse known as “Kampen”, and the old offices of Friwessa, the former name of AAK.
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Foto AVIODROME Lelystad. 24th September, 1937.
Photographs from the late 1930s show the original houses still surrounding the Center. These were later relocated across the Zaan River in 1970.
Across the River
Some houses that once stood next to the Center were relocated across the Zaan River in 1970 and are now part of the Zaanse Schans, a historic windmill village on the other side of the river Zaan. A photograph at the bottom of this page captures the remarkable transport of one such house – Koopmanshuys d’Mol at Kalverringdijk 19 – across the river.
Time Travel
Gemeente Zaanstad. 8th July, 1996.
Here you can see the former offices of AAK (then called Friwessa) next to the current building. This is where the entrance to the Center of Excellence now stands.
Today, the Center of Excellence stands as a modern hub of innovation, built on a
foundation of industrial heritage and transformation.
*Editor’s note: We would like to thank Raymond Kuijken, our Purchasing Manager, for his painstaking research and the crucial contribution he has made in bringing to life the history of our Center of Excellence.
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