A brief news item appeared in the October 10, 1895 edition of the newspaper De Locomotief. It read: Otto Samuel Knottnerus, director of the Nederlandsch-Indische Gasmaatschappij (NIGM), sailed to the Dutch East Indies on the Rotterdam Lloyd steamship Gedé. His purpose was "to inspect the company's factories in Batavia and Surabaya".

Knottnerus had just been appointed director of NIGM following the death of B.P. van Ijsselstein, who had previously led the company for 15 years. He felt it necessary to make this trip to find out why the company was struggling to grow. He wanted to see the company, the condition of its factories, and its operations firsthand, as well as negotiate with the local government on various matters.

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