Niemeyer

Koninklijke Theodorus Niemeyer BV was a Dutch tobacco company based in Groningen. It originated from a colonial goods trading business founded by Meindert Niemeijer on 25 March 1819, just outside the city of Groningen. The business sold colonial products including tobacco, and the tobacco trade under the brand 'het Wapen van Rotterdam' was expanded into tobacco production, integrating production and sale of pipe tobacco. After his son Theodorus Niemeijer took over the company on 27 June 1848, the firm began producing for other companies such as 'de Bijenkorf' and 'de Tabakshandel', and also started producing coffee and tea. During the Great Depression of 1932/1933 the company stopped cigarette production and used its factory space for coffee and tea production. It survived World War II by making coffee substitute and tea substitute under the name Savora. In the twentieth century the company initially grew strongly, acquiring several tobacco manufacturers in Groningen, including F. Lieftinck, and entering international markets. Due to strong competition from Douwe Egberts, it had to divest its coffee and tea sales in the 1960s. Niemeyer produced tobacco under the Samson brand. On its 150th anniversary in 1969, the company was granted the 'Koninklijk' (Royal) designation. Until 1990 the company was independent; that year it was absorbed into the international Rothmans Group. Rothmans then merged with British American Tobacco in 1999, and Koninklijke Theodorus Niemeyer BV became part of that concern. The factory remained in Groningen until it was closed in 2022. The company also ran the Niemeyer Tabaksmuseum, which was part of the Noordelijk Scheepvaartmuseum in Groningen until 1 January 2011; it had earlier been located in Amsterdam from 1964 to 1975. Niemeyer and/or BAT decided to close it because a museum presentation of the use of health-damaging substances no longer fitted company policy. Without Niemeyer's financial contribution it was financially impossible to keep the museum open. The collection was dismantled: loaned or donated pieces were returned where possible, part remained in the basic collection of the Noordelijk Scheepvaartmuseum or went to other museums, most of the remainder was sold at auction by Christie's, and some pieces are kept in the archives of the Scheepvaartmuseum. In October 2025 it was announced that the former factory of Koninklijke Theodorus Niemeyer on the Paterswoldseweg would get a new purpose as an expertise centre for artificial intelligence. Under the name Campus Niemeyer, the historic complex will be transformed into an innovative meeting place where AI specialists work with companies and knowledge institutions such as the University of Groningen, Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen and various vocational (mbo) programmes. The campus will become part of the Zernike and UMCG campus. Construction of the expertise centre starts in 2026, as does the establishment of a separate AI factory elsewhere in Groningen, which will make data, computing power and expertise available to organisations throughout the Netherlands. The project is being realised by real estate company Mensenborgh Wijkerzand Projectontwikkeling (MWPO), owner of the Niemeyer complex. The editorial office of the Dagblad van het Noorden will also move there in mid-2028. Niemeijer also issued 17 different scrapbooks and picture albums, with pictures supplied loose with the sale of coffee and tea (3 albums) and with tobacco (11 albums; 1922–1933, with 1930 missing due to the Crisis). After 1959 Samson scrapbooks and sports books also appeared.

Koninklijke Theodorus Niemeyer BV was a Dutch tobacco manufacturer from Groningen and part of British American Tobacco. The business originated from a colonial goods trade founded by Meindert Niemeijer on 25 March 1819, just outside the city of Groningen. It sold colonial products including tobacco, and the tobacco trade under the brand 'het Wapen van Rotterdam' was expanded with tobacco production, bringing production and sale of pipe tobacco into one hand. After his son Theodorus Niemeijer took over the company on 27 June 1848, the firm began producing for other companies alongside its own brand, for example for 'de Bijenkorf' and 'de Tabakshandel'. It also started producing coffee and tea. During the Great Depression of 1932/1933 the company stopped cigarette production and used the factory spaces for coffee and tea production. It got through World War II by making coffee substitute and tea substitute under the name Savora. In the twentieth century the company initially grew strongly. It took over various tobacco manufacturers in Groningen, including F. Lieftinck, and entered international markets. Due to strong competition from Douwe Egberts, it had to divest its coffee and tea sales in the 1960s. Niemeyer produced tobacco under the Samson brand. On its 150th anniversary in 1969, the company was granted the 'Koninklijk' designation. Until 1990 the company was independent. That year it was absorbed into the international Rothmans Group. Rothmans then merged with British American Tobacco in 1999, and Koninklijke Theodorus Niemeyer BV became part of that concern. The factory remained in Groningen until it was closed in 2022. The company also operated the Niemeyer Tabaksmuseum, which until 1 January 2011 was part of the Noordelijk Scheepvaartmuseum in Groningen; it had earlier been located in Amsterdam from 1964 to 1975. Niemeyer and/or BAT decided to close it because a museum presentation of the use of health-damaging substances no longer fitted company policy. Without Niemeyer's financial contribution it was financially impossible to keep the museum open. The collection was dismantled: museum pieces loaned from third parties or donated in the past were returned where possible, part remained in the basic collection of the Noordelijk Scheepvaartmuseum or went to other museums, most of the remainder was sold at auction by Christie's, and some pieces are kept in the archives of the Scheepvaartmuseum for posterity. In October 2025 it was announced that the former factory of Koninklijke Theodorus Niemeyer on the Paterswoldseweg would get a new purpose as an expertise centre for artificial intelligence. Under the name Campus Niemeyer, the historic complex will be transformed into an innovative meeting place where AI specialists work with companies and knowledge institutions such as the University of Groningen, Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen and various vocational (mbo) programmes. The campus will become part of the Zernike and UMCG campus. Construction of the expertise centre starts in 2026, as does the establishment of a separate AI factory elsewhere in Groningen, which will make data, computing power and expertise available to organisations throughout the Netherlands. The project is being realised by real estate company Mensenborgh Wijkerzand Projectontwikkeling (MWPO), owner of the Niemeyer complex. The editorial office of the Dagblad van het Noorden will also move there in mid-2028. Niemeijer also issued 17 different scrapbooks and picture albums, with pictures supplied loose with the sale of coffee and tea (3 albums) and with tobacco (11 albums; 1922–1933, with 1930 missing due to the Crisis). After 1959 Samson scrapbooks and sports books also appeared. Thin-cover picture albums included: Dwars door Europa per motorboot (1922), Mooi Zwitserland (1923), Naar het land der Middernachtszon (Scandinavië) (1924), Naar de Middellandsche zee (1925), Amerika (1926), Nederlandsch Indië (1927), Japan en China (1928), Hoe ontstaat onze Courant? (1929), De schatten der aarde - Eerste afdeeling (Steenkolen en zout) (1931), De schatten der aarde - Tweede afdeeling (Ertsen en metalen) (1932), De gilde viert (1933), De Bonte Wereld 1 (1935) (part 2 was never released). Hard-cover albums appeared after World War II: Vliegende Vleugels (1947-1948 in several editions), Vliegende Vleugels II (1949-1950 in several editions). In 1958/1959 four comic booklets by Marten Toonder were published: Tom Poes en de Kniphoed (1958), Tom Poes en het Tijddeurtje (1958), Tom Poes en het Slaagsysteem (1958), Tom Poes en de Achtgever (1959). These booklets could be saved by cutting out the 'kopjes' on the coffee and tea packaging. In 1959 followed scrapbooks for Samson shag seals: 100 vlaggen van scheepvaartmaatschappijen, Onze voetbalclubs - 78 emblemen Nederlandse voetbalclubs, 100 labeltjes Sport en Spel (small album, stiff cover). In 1960 followed a reissue of Onze voetbalclubs with 78 emblems of Dutch football clubs and expanded to 200 with domestic and foreign clubs under the title Plakboek voor 200 nationale en internationale voetbalclubemblemen, followed by expansions to 260 and 300 clubs. In 1965 followed as the last collectible edition 100 sluitzegels about cars on a thin collector sheet: Plakgids. From 1964 various sports books were published under the Samson label about the KNVB, Tour de France and football competitions.

• Meindert Niemeijer founded a colonial goods trade just outside Groningen.

• Theodorus Niemeijer took over the company from his father and began producing for other companies and coffee/tea.

• During the Great Depression, the company stopped cigarette production and used factory space for coffee and tea.

• On its 150th anniversary, the company was granted the 'Koninklijk' designation.

• The company was absorbed into the international Rothmans Group.

• Rothmans merged with British American Tobacco, making Niemeyer part of BAT.

• The Niemeyer Tabaksmuseum closed as part of the Noordelijk Scheepvaartmuseum.

• The factory in Groningen was closed.

• Announcement of Campus Niemeyer, an AI expertise centre in the former factory, with construction starting in 2026.

Dutch tobacco manufacturer with a long family heritage, later a subsidiary brand within British American Tobacco.

• Samson pipe tobacco

  Tobacco produced under the Samson brand.

• het Wapen van Rotterdam tobacco

  Tobacco brand under which the tobacco trade was expanded into production.

• Coffee and tea

  Produced by the company, later divested in the 1960s due to competition.

• Savora coffee substitute and tea substitute

  Produced during World War II.

1. 1Niemeyer - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Koninklijke Theodorus Niemeyer BV - Wikipedianl.wikipedia.org