Scheepswerf en Machinefabriek Werf Gusto v/h A.F. Smulders
In 1927
The works
In 1927, Werf Gusto published a concise description of the works in an English book, called "The importance of Holland, seen from the air". To the text were added two beautiful aerial photos. From these, it becomes clear how the works grew in the two decades since its inception.
By then, Werf Gusto occupied nearly 30 acres. The Works included a Shipbuilding Yard, Iron and Copper Foundries, a Carpentry Shop, a very large Engineering Shop, Turning and Fitting Shops, etc., etc. all of which were provided with modern machines and up to date equipment.
Aerial view from the southwest
The first photo is taken from the southwest. In the background we see the Nieuwe Maas. The long building with two aisles, near the eastern boundary of the works (left in the photo) houses the shops for:
- machining (lathes, shapers, boring mills, milling and drilling machines, grinding machines
- fitting and test assembly
- tool making
- dressing of castings
- foundry
- pattern making
The second large building, near the centre of the photo, houses the shops for:
- ship plate preparation and bridge building
- blacksmiths' shop, steam hammers and steam presses
Directly to the west (right) of this second building we find a large flat-roofed shed of more modern design. This houses the recently opened steel construction department, where steel sheet, strip and rolled sections (such as angles, tees, channels and joists) are prepared for use in a variety of steel buildings as wall components, roof trusses, compound beams etc.
Next to the latter building lies the steel park (of almost triangular shape), which is provided with a mobile tower crane and (on the southern side) an overhead crane running into two low-roofed rivetting shops, where sections are assembled.
Between the two first-mentioned aisled buildings we see the office building, recently enlarged; and in front of the three large sheds runs a stretch of ancillary buildings, also quite new.
Aerial view from the northwest
The second photo is taken from the northwest. In front of the blacksmiths' shop, in the centre of the photo, lie the two main slipways, both in use for the construction of quite large ships. The old woodworking shop has disappeared to make more room for the western slip. The new cluster of buildings further to the west (left) houses a powerhouse, a compressor house, a pump house with water tower; and a new, larger, woodworking shop. Further to the right, two floating cranes are used in assembly work around the slipways. To the extreme right we observe a floating crane under construction.