Antonius Johannes Jurgens

Who was Antonius Johannes Jurgens?

Antonius Johannes Jurgens was the grandson of Antoon Jurgens and Joanna Lemmens. His grandfather was the founder of the butter company Antoon Jurgens and of the first world margarine factory in Oss, The Netherlands. Antonius Johannes Jurgens was one of the main European margarine and soap manufacturers in the early twentieth century. Anton Jurgens as he was called started in the late eighteen hundreds also a Margarine factory in Germany and in Belgium. Although initially in fierce competition with another manufacturer from Oss in the Netherlands, Samuel van den Bergh, both competitors joined up in 1927 to form the Margarine Unie, which would merge in 1930 with William Hulme Lever, 2nd Viscount Leverhulme of Lever Brothers to form Unilever. Antonius Johannes Jurgens was also a Dutch politician. Eric Jurgens, a family member, is at present a politician in the Netherlands.