How a post-WWII Dutch immigrant entrepreneur consolidated BC portable sawmill operations into a large paper mill: the Netherlands Overseas Mills

There are a number of feature articles about Dutch immigrants that have languished on the drawing boards, awaiting completion during a slack week or even a slow day. Such moments rarely presented themselves anymore as regular issue features became more demanding with fewer people on staff. Below follows an example of such a subject. Previously published in the 2012 Farewell issue of The Windmill Herald

When Canadians think of Dutch immigrants, they generally do not think of them as lumbermen. Yet there are Dutch Canadians who have left their mark in the lumber industry or are still heavily involved in it.

Over the years, the story of Netherlands Overseas Mills Limited (N.O.M.) surfaced off and on in conversations with people, who had lived in the Interior of British Columbia. This Prince George firm was sold by its owner Nick van Drimmelen in the early 1970s, after it had clawed out of receivership, in no small part thanks to the help of its sympathetic receiver.

Forty sawmill operations

Already before immigrating a partner in Houthandel van Drimmelen in the Netherlands, now among the country’s largest lumber traders, N.O.M. founder Nick van Drimmelen bought many portable and other small sawmill operations in BC’s Interior. At one time, he owned as many as 40 of such firms, all valuable for their timer rights, employing as many as 500 people. All located in a huge area between Merritt (where his firm also logged trees on the huge Nicola Valley’s Douglas Lake Ranch), Revelstoke and Prince George. In this central northern BC town Van Drimmelen built a new planer mill to supply BC lumber to the far steadier European market, interestingly, to avoid U.S.A. concessions and price volatility.

Son Peter van Drimmelen, who writes about his family’s N.O.M. history below, still meets people occasionally who fondly remember his father for his help to their community, many of which prospered with Van Drimmelen’s busy sawmills. These communities also benefited from the Dutch immigrant’s drive for better infrastructure, such as roads, so his small fleet of the huge Kenworth trucks could safely deliver their heavy loads to the mills.

Among those who in the past loved to reminisce about Nick van Drimmelen and N.O.M. was the company’s former accountant and comptroller Nick Vandervelden, who felt that lumber industry historians never understood this newcomer who saw so many opportunities the industry’s establishment was missing.

Who among the current or future post graduate students interested in Dutch immigrant and settlement history in Canada will accept the challenge to further research Van Drimmelen’s lumber career and the Dutch who settled in or near BC’s forests and continue to leave their mark such as another Dutch Prince George, B.C.-based lumber pioneer, Veendam-born John Brink? 

What follows is Peter van Drimmelen’s contribution to our 2012 The Windmill Herald’s Farewell Issue:

From barge to lumber

Nicolaas Maarten van Drimmelen was born on Dec 8, 1917 in the small (Southern Dutch, ed.) town of Klundert. His father, Pieter Cornelis van Drimmelen was in the shipping business and used to travel by barge transporting goods back and forth between Germany and Holland and, as circumstances changed, eventually went into the lumber business.

After WWII, my father met many Canadians, who encouraged him to come to Canada where the forests were plentiful. He dreamed of coming to Canada and to eventually ship lumber to Europe.

His first trip to New York was in 1950, Visas were obtained in Ottawa and the following year, at the end of May 1951, he (and his family, ed.) left Holland for New York, aboard the passenger liner Nieuw Amsterdam.

Adventurous trip

Kees Brouwer was a friend of my dad’s and an economist by profession. He had worked for Shell in Indonesia and had returned to the Netherlands after the Netherlands East Indies gained independence. My dad asked him if he would be interested in emigrating to Canada as well. The proposal was accepted and Kees Brouwer and dad agreed to venture out together.

After purchasing a car and tow trailer, the nine of us crossed the United States with our destination being Vancouver, British Columbia. It was a very long but adventurous trip… four adults with 5 children under the age of 9.

During the war, dad had met Harvey McDiarmid, who had lumber interests in the Okanagan Valley. He showed my father this region along with a mill in Lone Butte (located in the Cariboo region, ed.). To the surprise of Harvey, my dad preferred Lone Butte to the Okanagan. My dad knew his lumber and he thought the Okanagan was too dry. So this was the start of the Netherlands Overseas Mills (N.O.M.) Kees Brouwer and his wife Joke lived in the basement of our home where we built a good-sized office.

Consolidation

At this time, dad met Roy Woodland, who was the agent of the railway P.G.E. Roy was of great help and became the manager for all operations around the 100 Mile House. Dutch immigrant Bart van Dijk was hired to run the planer mill in Lone Butte. Fellow immigrants Tony van Kempen ran the operations in Macalister and Chris Mulder was instrumental in hauling equipment from Pitt Meadows up North.

Gradually things improved and expanded. N.O.M. now had a planer mill in Exeter (100 Mile House) and portable sawmills in Horsefly and Crooked Lake. Dad and Roy went to Quesnel***** Large acreage on the lake from an American couple who operated a hunting lodge and who were planning to retire.

My dad met John Whitmer, who joined N.O.M. in 1957. He became the logging superintendent for the N.O.M. operations throughout the Interior and Cariboo. By then N.O.M. had purchased 40 small independent operators.

Back home, the company’s office was moved to Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver, and eventually to the main Royal Bank building at Granville and Hastings.

Cracks

N.O.M. hired Keith Holman from MacMillan Bloedel to become Chief Accountant, Dick Stursburg became the Chief Financial Officer, and Hugh Hamilton was Head Forester. Nick Vander Velden moved to Prince George to head up Accounting. Bram Kool was in charge of sales in the Vancouver office.

During these expansion times, N.O.M. set out to purchase operations with Prince George Interior Planer Mills, Norman N. Smith, Swanson Lumber and Prince George Planers. Cracks were, however, starting to form.

BC Premier W.A.C. Bennett was expanding the P.G.E. at an alarming rate to develop the North. In order to finance this endeavour, the government had raised its lumber freight tariffs. These tariffs were much higher than those with CN and CP Railways. Since N.O.M. was highly concentrated on the P.G.E. line, it was struggling to survive. My dad knew the Minister of Highways well and asked if it would be possible to have a meeting with W.A.C. Bennett. After a successful meeting with W.A.C. Bennet, it was decided that the P.G.E. freight tariffs would be dropped.

European market

My dad also became good friends with the Minister of Forestry. There was concern for small sawmill operators, who, when nearing retirement, only had old machinery to sell. In the early 50’s, there were more than 500 sawmills in the Prince George area. My father suggested a quota system whereby an operator would receive something extra if and when he sold his operation.

My dad’s vision was to ship lumber to Europe. He had joined broker ‘Seaboard’ which was a co-op of many operators who together sold lumber to Europe. N.O.M. joined, but wanted to eventually leave and ship lumber on its own.

With the new quota system, dad could see the writing on the wall for these small operators. Pulp mills were being built in Quesnel and Prince George, and the demand for chips was enormous. Small bush mills would become history. Dad decided to sell all operations in B.C., and concentrate in Prince George. His employees were welcome to come to Prince George.

A loan from Roynat, a financial arm of the Royal Bank, was granted. My dad’s plan was to build a large sawmill in the Interior, and to build it to European specifications.

N.O.M. contracted Louis Bidden to build this large mill. Roy Dawson was the B.C. Rail manager who arranged for the 100 acre site. My father’s cousin, Piet Maris, moved up from Merritt to manage the construction of this large operation.

Volkswagen

N.O.M. had by now resigned from Seaboard and started its own negotiations for transporting lumber to Europe. Dad had met the owners of Volkswagen Ships, who shipped vehicles and who had fantastic ventilation systems. They returned to Germany empty. He obtained a contract with them to ship lumber to Europe.

N.O.M. was operating and cutting almost 80% of its lumber for Europe. This lumber was rough sawn with very thin strips put between each layer of lumber. It was strapped and sent to Vancouver Wharves, where they built a dip tank on the property. Each lift of the lumber was totally submerged into the dip tank before being loaded onto the VW ships. The ventilation would be running and the lumber was drying during the trip. It was an ingenious idea which no one had ever attempted to do.

Missing Letter

Dad made an arrangement with a very successful agent in Europe who sold all this wood through a financier. After each ship was loaded, N.O.M. would receive a letter of credit prior to leaving the dock. One day, after a ship was loaded, Dad was informed that there was no letter of credit. He decided to ship the lumber to his brother in Holland, who could at least unload and store it for N.O.M. This was not a success. With all lumber cut to European standards, and no dry kilns on the BCR property, N.O.M. production had to be converted to US standards. All lumber was now being trucked to the downtown Prince George planers that N.O.M. had acquired previously, with a huge extra cost.

It was a difficult time and the situation was not good and Roynat called the loan. A good friend of my father, Greg McKeown, was the Royal Bank Manager. He arranged for Ian Bell, from Touche Ross, to be appointed as the Receiver for N.O.M. This was a huge blow for my father.

Small profits

At this time, Canfor was anxious to pick up N.O.M. at a reduced price but it was refused by the Minister of Forestry. This gave N.O.M. some desperately needed breather space. Ian Bell liked the management people that N.O.M. had. He asked Manager John Whitmer, Superintendent Bob Lundblom, Sales Manager Roy Barret and Forester Harvey Anderson to come up with a conservative plan to operate the mill at about 60% production, and what price they would need to make a small profit. This plan was approved.

Each month the mill made some profit. By the spring of 1968 our sales manager wanted to leave his position and dad was anxious to see me get the job. It was approved by Ian Bell, the Receiver. The company was making record profits, due to the increase in lumber prices.

Things were going well, and N.O.M. was able to pay all of its debts and suppliers. Dad now owned the mill again. He was able to make arrangements with bankers to sell 10% of his remaining shares to John Whitmer.

N.O.M. sold

Around December 1970, or January 1971, dad got an offer from Balfour Guthrie, which was almost too good to be true. He struggled with this however, but after his family urged him to do so, my dad finally accepted the offer to sell N.O.M.

John Whitmer agreed to stay on for a five year contract. Dad stayed in touch with John for the remaining years. Following a time of illness, Nicolaas Maarten van Drimmelen passed away in 1988.

I am proud of what my dad accomplished in Canada. I think of him every day, and i will miss him forever.

Peter C. van Drimmelen.