HistoryMilestones
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The emergence and oldest traces
Even though we can not find an exact date for the emergence of the Molenbergnatie, we can place her amongst the oldest Nations of the Antwerp harbor. Despite lack of evidence, we can presume she was founded in 1802.
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Oldest official statutes
The Molenbergnatie took a first legal form of existence when at 04/10/1867 Notary Alphone Balthazar Pauwels made up a deed which formed a society of the 22 members of the Molenbergnatie for the term of 40 years.
This society had the following purpose: the loading and unloading of ships, the transportation and editing of merchandise and goods and all other jobs which the Nations of Antwerp occupied themselves with.
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First sites
The Molenbergnatie first acquired the right to set up buildings (16/04/1873) and afterwards she bought the ground at the Falconstreet for 50.000 BEF.
The old buildings contained an office, that was also used as e conference room, a housing for the horse master and stable boy, stables for about 25 horses and a warehouse with an attic.
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Further expansion
In 1936, the Molenbergnatie bought the adjacent building, size 395 m², so a new fireproof warehouse, called “Labor”, could be built. Just a few years after the warehouse was taken in use, World War 2 broke out, with the result: few or no raw coffee. Other products where stored instead.
The first expansion happened when the Molenbergnatie bought the very appropriate warehouse Marnix: size 645 m².
From 1960 till 1985, this warehouse was used by Koffie Rombouts for temporary storage of imported raw coffee. In the months April and May of 1960 a gigantic stock of Egyptian onion was shipped per coaster in bags of 25 an 50 kilos. The man behind this kind of plans was L.P. De Munck. He stimulated the Molenbergnatie to buy a telex and delivered her first mobile transport line.
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Other modern expansions
It was time that the Molenbergnatie went with times. This resulted in following innovations:
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1923: the first tractor was bought
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Horse-drawn wagons where replaced by trailers (type Depiere-Stitaels).
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28/06/1934 the General Assembly decided to stand as a guarantor with Customs so they could start with the clearance of goods for their customers: the first administrative activity.
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After World War 2, the Molenbergnatie bought her first truck (Berliet) for the transportation of coffee and cans and a light truck for local and small transportation in replacement of the horses.
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Purchase of a mobile crane.
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1977: purchase of a computer, delivered by Prodata/Brussels: this old type computer (without screen, but already working with floppy disks) served until 1985.
After 1985, the Molenbergnatie was obligated to expand their warehousing because of the massive landing of raw coffee and preserves. Eventually the important decision was made to build an office building on Antwerp harbor territory, being the building at the Nieuwelandenweg.
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Interesting to know
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During the two World Wars, there was so little manpower in Antwerp so the bosses of the MBN had to do a part of the work themselves. One of them had to do a transport from Antwerp to Brussels with horse and wagon in the middle of winter during World War 1. In that same period, the bosses (who were sworn weighers) had to register al the copper that citizens had to turn in on the orders of the occupying power.
- A special assignment was the transportation of all the iron needed for the build of the “Boerentoren” (skyscraper of the KBC in the middle of Antwerp) in 1927-1928.
- One of the strangest assignments was the transportation of a few gigantic buoys (9 ton each) in 1930. This happened with regular trailers pulled by tractors without brakes between tractors and trailers.