In 1948, just after the Second World War Piet Maaskant and his two sons started a ship repair business. The yard originated in Bruinisse, where it primarily served the town’s mussel and prawn fishing fleet. During the 1960s, the yard shifted its operations to Stellendam. Serving the fishing fleet proved to be a very good business, and the yard started to expand its activities from repair to the newbuilding of vessels. Additionally, it undertook the construction and installation of winches and more complicated repairs (e.g. engine overhauls).

Maaskant grew to be a trusted repair and newbuild yard for many Dutch fishing businesses (often family-run for generations). Following this, the yard widened its market to the servicing of governmental agency vessels, dreders and smaller offshore vessels, as well as winch manufacture and installation.