Admiraliteitskade premises
Gradually, the space in the shipping quarter had become too small. In 1923, Econosto moved to the admiraliteitskade premises in Rotterdam that were enormous for their time. Econosto was doing so well that Roeters van Lennep – an exceptionally socially-motivated man - was able to introduce a pension insurance scheme for his personnel in 1928, an advanced initiative for that time. Furthermore, by being able to deliver quickly from its own stocks, Econosto certainly made a modest contribution to the good name of the Rotterdam harbour. The company had an especially large reputation in shipbuilding and repair because of its fast delivery capabilities. Shipping companies gladly had their ships repaired in the Rotterdam wharves, precisely because replacement material was available on call and they had the least chance of incurring delays. And yet, there were difficult years for Econosto. In the mid-1930s, Econosto had thirty employees. When the Second World War broke out in 1940, there were 44 names on the list of employees. Econosto needed to do nothing or little on personnel recruitment in these years. When a vacancy needed to be filled, there was always someone in the family or circle of friends to be found who wanted to work at Econosto. This bound the personnel of Econosto into a tightly-knit community. The directors had good reasons for this personnel policy: newcomers who were taken on through family or acquaintances already had some idea of how Econosto worked as a company. The policy also made for cost-savings on recruitment, an easier introduction and, in the face of a tight labour market, someone could always be found through the family. The fact that the personnel lived in a fairly small circle around the company was also remarkable for that time. By the way, the picture sketched here is nostalgic. How different things are now. With a modern, open personnel policy, Econosto now has employees of tens of nationalities worldwide.
