Editing Appingedam (section)

=== "Brons" Engine Factory ===
The economic boom of the late 19th century, propelled by the increase of the value of the cattle markets and, in particular, development of the horse market, allowed Appingedam to thrive again. Even though the importance of the waterways decreased after the Groningen-Delfzijl railway line opened, at the beginning of the 20th century thus diminishing Appingedam's profits on water transportation, the former trade hub reinvented itself as a major industrial centre in the region of Fivelingo. In 1870, C. Roggenkamp implemented the first steam-engine in Appingedam and founded the first steam-propelled sawmill timber in the Netherlands. Soon thereafter, other steam-run machines were implemented in Appingedam factories, further increasing the wealth of the city: a threshing machine and a crank press.  At the beginning of the 20th century, the City already boasted a dairy factory, a flax factory, a cardboard manufacture, gasworks, a trailer factory, as well as the plants of busbuilders Medema and Smit. The "Bronsmotorenfabriek" (Brons Engine Factory),   Ter Borg & Mensinga, an Appingedam-based mechanical plant named after its founder Jan Brons, gained international fame when its foundry produced the first Brons engine, catering for the needs of modern shipping, enjoying worldwide sales. The huge crankshaft of the first “Source” model may be admired today at the corner of the Kniestraat and Dijkstraat, as an industrial monument. Another mechanical plant with worldwide sales was Ter Borg & Mensinga.