On this
Vlootschouw page is a houseflag: simply blue with many N’s in white,
flying on inland vessel ‘Barco’. A bit further down we find the logo
and the name of freighting company van Nieuwpoort Grint & Zand BV.
Website of this company situated at Gouda (roughly, between Amsterdam
and Rotterdam), English
version: Van Nieuwpoort is essentially a gravel and sand extractor
and producer, thereby serving the construction industry, in fact offering
a wide array of products. Founded in 1905 in the Gouda area, a family
business offering sand and coal ash to local clients expanded so as to
employ boats and dredging for sand or digging out gravel. Taking
over various similar firms, the company kept expanding not least thanks
to the introduction of readymix concrete. Lastly, Van Nieuwpoort
has a serious interest in R&D.
On the waterway transport side, the homepage affirms the regular use
of about a hundred boats, a small number of which are owned. As to
details of what is transported – or produced – the left menu comes in handy
(coloured squares).
The house flag in the national colours may well be used alongside the
blue one, or both may play a different role; at least we know that the
second one has been used for waterborne transport.
Jan Mertens, 8 Dec 2006
Van Nieuwpoort pennant
image sent by Jan Mertens, 12 Nov 2009
I may add the pennant counterpart of the first version. The blue is
not very dark but surely these are the national colours?
Source: Marktplaats (Dutch auction site) offer no. 291558487 (accessed
8 Nov 2009) put up by “skipvlag”, giving dimensions as 0.45 [m] x 0.70
[m].
On the other hand, the flag currently featured on the company
site is the blue-and-white one: also seen here.
Jan Mertens, 12 Nov 2009