Former factory Van Haren
This location is part of the "Bike & LEDER route East. Watch the video here!
Father Johannes van Haren owned a small clog/shoe factory in Beneden-Leeuwen and in 1913, with his three sons, started a ...
This location is part of the "Bike & LEDER route East. Watch the video here!
Father Johannes van Haren owned a small clog/shoe factory in Beneden-Leeuwen and in 1913 he and his three sons started a leather business in Baardwijk/Waalwijk. Son Ivo van Haren started his own leather business in 1923 which made him a small fortune and in 1927 the Ivo van Haren shoe factory was established. Unique at the time, the factory started producing exclusively for its own shoe stores. By 1937, van Haren had 1,400 employees with a weekly production of 21,000 pairs of shoes. Their strong point was their unit prices. During the war, the factory at Hoogeinde was occupied by the Germans, who partially blew it up at the end of the war. Van Haren recovered after the war with the construction of new factories and expanded its stores. Van Haren offered and continues to offer many people work and income and, according to the employees, they form their own family culture.
In 1985 the family business was taken over by the German company Deichman shuhe. Today, the building at Hoogeinde is home to a design store and the factory has made way for the head office and large distribution center on the Waalwijk arterial road.
