Kees Bruynzeel

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Kees Bruynzeel (1900 - 1980) was a Dutch businessman, timber merchant and yachtsman who owned and operated a company Bruply Doors, including a factory at Stellenbosch in South Africa. In 1973, aged 72, Bruynzeel took both line and overall handicap honours in the Cape to Rio Yacht Race in his boat Stormy;<ref>Excerpt from The Admiral's Cup by Bob Fisher.</ref> his progress was followed with keen interest, since he had suffered three heart attacks in the previous year.

Bruynzeel won the Fastnet race for Holland in 1937 with his Stephens-designed yawl Zeearend. The Dutch designer Piet Zwart worked closely with Bruynzeel's father Kees and his brother Willem where he was involved with the design of the Zeearend as well.<ref>Piet Zwart, een veelzijdig avant-gardistisch vormgever (Dutch)).</ref>

In 1939, while Bruynzeel was the manager of Bruynzeel door manufacturers in Zaandam, he started looking around for alternatives because the threat of World War II was causing a decline in the building industry. He considered alternatives and pioneered the development of new timber materials for the production of the Bruynzeel kitchen<ref>Model by Bruynzeel: Design your own kitchen. Netherlands Architecture Institute.</ref> and for boat construction. Using a newly-developed water-resistant synthetic resin glue, Bruynzeel developed a durable three-ply wood, similar to plywood, for the fabrication of outer doors. Today Bruynzeel Multipanel Int. B.V., as it was later renamed, is a leading timber company that specialises in marine and construction timber, with distribution throughout Europe, North America and the Caribbean, amongst others.

Bruynzeel's South African timber operations now comprise PG Bison and are controlled by Steinhoff Africa<ref>PG Bison and Steinhoff Africa.</ref>

In 1962, Bruynzeel built a controversial house in Stellenbosch, especially considering the conservative architecture of the time. The roof of the house is shaped like a hyperbolic paraboloid, and is constructed using teak rafters and lined with yellowwood. It was designed by architect Aardt Bijl.