Figee Havenkraan

Already in 1892 the electric harbour crane was introduced in the port of Rotterdam. It was the first electric powered crane on the main land of Europe. Twenty years later 60 of the in total 95 harbour cranes in Rotterdam were powered by electricity. The Figee comapny, based in the Dutch town Haarlem, was the main supplier for the Rotterdam port. The history of the Figee company dates back to 1836 when Hendrik Figeen opened up a workshop for crates in Haarlem. Sice these crates were provided with a metal lining metalworking became an important part of the company. The World's Fair of 1851 in London meant a breaktrough for the company. It was the first time Hendrik Figee discovered steam power and he decided that this would be the future for the company. In the sixties of the 19th century the company built boilers and construction parts for bridges and lighthouses. In 1871 the first Figee steam powered crane was delivered to a customer. The crane was able to lift 500 kilos... At the end of the 19th century cranes had become Figees speciality and the company had customers all over the world. The crisis of the 30s in the last century hit the company hard, but it managed to survive. After World War II the expansion of the Rotterdam port was very favourable to Figee. In 1961 crane number '100' was delivered for the Rotterdam port and a contract for 41 cranes in the years to follow was signed. But it was also the expansion of the port that finally would lead to Figees demise. That is because Figee was not able to construct special container cranes that were asked for form the second half of the sixties. Figee decided to specialize in the construction of floating sheerlegs, but could not turn the tide. In 2005 the remains of the company - the design and sales department - went bankrupt. The name 'Figee' however was saved. Today it lives on in the 'Kenz-Figee' company. An international company that specializes in the construction of cranes especially for the offshore industry. The model you see here is a prize-winning model in a national model building contest in 1928. It measures (lxwxh) 130 x 35 x 150 cm.