Hardick & Seckel was a textile factory in the town of Enschede, the Netherlands believed to have been built in the late 19th century, which emerged from two textile factories, a silk factory and a horse product factory.
A textile is a flexible material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibers. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, hemp, or other materials to produce long strands. Textiles are formed by weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting or tatting, felting, or braiding.
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial site, usually consisting of buildings and machinery, or more commonly a complex having several buildings, where workers manufacture goods or operate machines processing one product into another.
Enschede, also known as Eanske in the local dialect of Twents, is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The municipality of Enschede consisted of the city of Enschede until 1935, when the rural municipality of Lonneker, which surrounded the city, was annexed after the rapid industrial expansion of Enschede which began in the 1860s and involved the building of railways and the digging of the Twentekanaal.
The fierce competition in the textile industry caused many factories to go bankrupt, close or move their businesses elsewhere. Hardick & Seckel was combined with a number of other factories which were bought by the municipality of Enschede. The property continued to be used by local companies for many years until it was allowed to stand largely empty. In 1984 a new lease through an initiative of a few municipal officials saw the renovation of the site for use as a "business centre". The building was renovated and adapted to the modern requirements, financially supported by the European Union.
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. It is to be distinguished (usually) from the county, which may encompass rural territory or numerous small communities such as towns, villages and hamlets.
The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2 (1,728,099 sq mi) and an estimated population of about 513 million. The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where members have agreed to act as one. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market, enact legislation in justice and home affairs and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. For travel within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished. A monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002 and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency.
The Hardick & Seckel complex consisted of three main buildings. The buildings were divided into several business units, offices and storage units. From 1985 to 1987 the company operated at a loss but the following 20 years it operated profitably. This continued until May 2006 with help from the Entrepreneurs Foundation Centers Enschede (SOCE).
In 1997 the Enschede municipality initiated a plan to close Hardick & Seckel. The entrepreneurs were not part of that plan and were to be removed from the area. After resistance by the incumbent operators in the building, by the council and the college, a final agreement reached in 1998 meant Hardick & Seckel remained there as a business centre. It was a long road to keep the business complex open, but the buildings proved popular. Eventually in 2001 the alterations and adjustments were completed.
A town council, village council or rural council is a form of local government for small municipalities.
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering vocational education or a secondary school.
Hardick & Seckel proved to still be in the attention of the municipality of Enschede. By the end of 2006, the complex, together with the surrounding plots (a total business area of 5 hectares) was brought into disrepute again. There was talk of a loss of €250,000 per year. For that reason, Hardick & Seckel closed. In 2003 the companies occupying the space were operating profitably, but after the introduction of the Rent System companies found it hard to continue. The area is to be demolished in the last quarter of 2009 for redevelopment.
