Kees Bruynzeel

Cornelis (Kees) Bruynzeel (Feb 19 1900, Rotterdam – 1980) was a Dutch businessman, timber merchant and yachtsman.

Bruynzeel was the son of Cornelis Bruynzeel Sr., who founded a timber factory in 1897, and Antoinette Lels. He studied in The Hague, and took several trips to the United States and Sweden to study progress in automatization and wood manufacturing. In 1920 he became manager of the family's new door factory in Zaandam and in 1922 he married Titia Verkade, daughter of the industrialist Ericus Gerhardus Verkade Jr.

Bruynzeel Jr. was an avid sailor. He won the Fastnet race for Holland in 1937 with his Stephens-designed yawl "Zeearend" ("sea eagle", the eagle being the logo of the Bruynzeel company). The Dutch designer Piet Zwart worked closely with Bruynzeel's father and his brother Willem [cite web|url=http://www.iisg.nl/ondernemers/pdf/pers-0266-02.pdf|title=Biography: Willem Bruynzeel|language=Dutch] (he designed their first kitchens) and was involved with the design of the Zeearend as well. [cite web|url=http://www.marcuse.nl/foto.php?pageID=157|title=Piet Zwart, een veelzijdig avant-gardistisch vormgever|language=Dutch]

In 1939, when the production had expanded to include floors and kitchens and the threat of World War II was causing a decline in the building industry, he considered alternatives and pioneered the development of new timber materials for the production of the Bruynzeel kitchen [cite web|url=http://www.nai.nl/e/collection/news/2004/0405_bruynzeel_e.html|title=Model by Bruynzeel: Design your own kitchen|publisher=Netherlands Architecture Institute] and for boat construction. Using a newly-developed water-resistant synthetic resin glue, Bruynzeel developed a durable three-ply wood, similar to plywood, for the fabrication of external doors. Bruynzeel went on to extend the concept of the modular kitchen and with EG van de Stadt developed the first industialised boat construction system in the world [cite web|url=http://www.valkenklasse.nl/nieuws/newsarch.htm.|title=Valkenklasse|language=Dutch] .

Today Bruynzeel Multipanel Int. B.V., as it was later renamed, is a leading timber company that specialises in marine and construction timber, with distribution throughout Europe, North America and the Caribbean, amongst others.

In 1956 Kees Bruynzeel Jr. moved to South Africa, where he owned and operated a company Bruply Doors [cite web|url=http://www.icpcredit.com/ReportRequest.asp?sCompanyID=306988|title=Bruply Doors (Pty) Ltd.] , including a factory at Stellenbosch. Bruynzeel's South African timber operations now comprise PG Bison and are controlled by Steinhoff Africa [cite web|url=http://www.steinhoffinternational.com/asp/africa_operations.asp|title=PG Bison and Steinhoff Africa]

In 1962, Bruynzeel built a house in Stellenbosch, that was controversial considering the conservative architecture of the time. The roof of the house is shaped like a hyperbolic paraboloid, and is constructed using teak rafters and lined with yellowwood. It was designed by architect Aardt Bijl.

Bruynzeel continued sailing. In 1967 he won the Los Angeles-to-Hawaii Transpac race with the boat "Stormvogel" ("Stormbird" or the "Shearwater"), after coming in a close second in 1965 [cite web|url=http://www.transpacificyc.org/history/tp03-lists.html|title=The Transpac Race at www.transpacificyc.org] . In 1973, aged 72, Bruynzeel took both line and overall handicap honours in the Cape to Rio Yacht Race in his boat "Stormy"; [cite web|url=http://www.rorc.org/admiralscup/history/1957/default.html|title=Excerpt from "The Admiral's Cup" by Bob Fisher] his progress was followed with keen interest, since he had suffered three heart attacks in the previous year.

References

External links

* [http://www.tartanowners.org/resources/bracer/zeearend.jpgImage of Kees Bruynzeel's Zeearend]
* [http://stellenboschwriters.com/landmai.html Details and photos of the Bruynzeel house]
* [http://www.bruynzeelmultipanel.com/ Bruynzeel Multipanel Int. B.V. website]
* [http://www.steinhoffinternational.com Steinhoff International Limited website]
* [http://people.zeelandnet.nl/kooiman70/Hendrik%20Salomons.htm#III.4 C de Haas & Brijnzeel 1870] Company established by grandparents