Royal IHC

It would lead to the establishment of a daughter company called Single Buoy Mooring, the nucleus of the later SBM Offshore.

In order to solve this Robert Smulders (from the Gusto family) founded a new IHC daughter company on 27 February 1969.

Gusto Staalbouw built a number of offshore products like jackup rigs, but also the single buoy mooring, which was fundamental for the growth of SBM.

In January IHC Holland had accepted orders for dredging material amounting to 210 million guilders.

[15] In order to get government permission for collective layoffs, and subsidies for modernization, IHC was therefore prepared to get rid of its shipyard Gusto Schiedam.

The closure was probably a combination of the IHC board being prepared to give up an old shipyard that it no longer needed, and RSV having ambitions in the offshore industry.

Furthermore, IHC got 200 million to reorganize its dredging activities, a subsidy that was made conditional on closing Gusto Schiedam.

What was left of IHC Holland after the closure of Gusto Schiedam was the dredging division, and the offshore activities and services.

In Gusto Staalbouw Slikkerveer IHC had also retained part of its offshore construction, notably that of single buoy moorings.

In the annual report over 1980 Caland gave its shares in IHC Holland a nil value, but still made a profit of 17.6 million from other sources.

IHC's shipbuilding activities would be merged with those of dredging vessel builder Van Rees, and the state would invest via NIBC Bank.

A general reorganization plan for the sector called for shipbuilding at Verschure to cease, and for reducing capacity at Gusto Staalbouw in Slikkerveer and Geleen.

The explanation by IHC for the choice to close Verschure was as follows: It was a shipyard with relatively bad facilities, which led to a high cost price.

By closing down shipbuilding at Verschure, and reducing capacity at Gusto Staalbouw the loss would be limited to 14 million a year.

While it was still busy laying off white-collar workers, it had about 100 vacancies for technical staff, including designers and order handling.

[28] In early July 1980 IHC announced orders for two trailing suction dredgers and four hopper barges worth 90 million.

[31] In April 1981 the contractor Zanen-Verstoep ordered a big trailing suction dredger to be built at IHC-Smit.

In January 1981 IHC started construction of a new shipyard in Sliedrecht for 63.5 million guilders, of which the state would pay 30%.

Later it became clear that the IHC strategy was to build simple standard cutter suction dredgers in series at Sliedrecht, reducing cost by 20%.

IHC Sliedrecht built standardized dredging vessels for countries like Nigeria, Mexico, India and Argentina.

[41] In November 1985 Van der Giessen-de Noord launched its large big ship, and then decided to scale radically, from 1,500 to 400 employees.

[47] In March 1989 the new IHC sold its machine factory De Machinefabriek Noordwijkerhout (DMN) with 70 employees.

In 1992 IHC Holland got a Chinese order worth 200 million for three trailing suction dredgers.

It became more usual to build most, or all of a new dredging vessel in developing countries with assistance and parts supplied by IHC Holland.

It had built a hopper suction dredger for 100 million for the dredging company Jan De Nul from Belgium.

[55] In 1997 IHC Caland bought Van der Giessen de Noord, practically the last builder of large commercial vessels in the Netherlands.

After some mishaps with larger orders, and the post 11 September 2001 slowdown, it became quiet at Van der Giessen.

[58] The new owners were represented in IHC B.V., a private company with shareholders: Rabobank Participaties B.V. for 49%, management and employees for 33%, and Parkland for 18%.

[62] In June 2015 IHC announced that it would concentrate shipbuilding in Krimpen aan de IJssel and Kinderdijk.

[64] In 2019 some dredging companies in the Netherlands and Belgium found out that a Chinese investor had shown interest to buy the troubled Royal IHC.

Shipyard sign of Industriële Handels Combinatie Holland
Castoro 7 ex- Viking Piper
Workers at Verschure in August 1979
The IHC shipyard in Krimpen aan den IJssel in 2008