Nederlandsche Suikerraffinaderij

The Nederlandsche Suikerraffinaderij NV (NSR) (English: Dutch sugar refinery) was an Amsterdam sugar refining company that refined sugar cane to produce white sugar and other sugar products. After its demise, its main sugar refinery became part of the Amstel Suikerraffinaderij and still later part of the Wester Suikerraffinaderij. Context During the first few hundred years after its creation in about 1600, the Amsterdam sugar industry consisted of many small sugar refineries. These processed the raw sugar from sugarcane to create white sugar. The French period (1794–1815) was extremely tough for the Dutch sugar industry, which was at times completely cut off from its resources. By the late 1820s the Amsterdam sugar industry was still in serious decay. In 1827 the Amsterdam sugar industry consisted of about 60 companies that on average processed 200-250 tons of raw sugar. It began to grow again after the 1830 Belgian Revolution forced the Netherlands Trading Society (NTS) to redirect its supply of raw Java sugar from Antwerp to the northern Netherlands. That same year, the introduction of the Cultivation System in the Dutch East Indies also led to a sharp increase of sugar production on Java. The tax system encouraged the export of Java sugar to Dutch harbors. Also in about 1830, the character of the Amsterdam sugar industry would be changed by two major inventions. Traditionally, raw sugar was boiled by making a fire below the pan. This was very inefficient, because the fire continued to consume fuel if it was no longer needed and a refinery required many fires. The invention of using tubes that led steam or hot oil through the pans required only one fire. It also gave much better control, diminishing the amount of sugar that burned on the pan's surface. The other invention was Howards vacuum pan, patented in 1813. This allowed to cook at a lower temperature and led to a better product. However, it also required a steam engine to drive an air pump, and a water reservoir. The cost of the machinery was such that a company had to process 1000-3000 tons of raw sugar to make a profit with use this new method.