ERIKS, a leading international provider of specialized industrial services, celebrated its 80th anniversary this month.

Founded in Alkmaar in the Netherlands, the company initially focused on supplying gaskets, hoses, seals and drive belts to the dairy sector. Eight decades later, ERIKS has grown to employ 6,500 skilled professionals in 17 countries, serving several industrial segments. ERIKS offers a wide range of technical products, co-engineering and customized solutions, while striving to help customers improve their products’ performance and reduce their total cost of ownership. To celebrate its anniversary, ERIKS developed a short video highlighting the company’s evolution over the last 80 years.

“Over the past 80 years, the team at ERIKS has had one simple goal: to help our customers build even more innovative, successful and profitable businesses through a focus on entrepreneurship and a commitment to technology,” said Shawn Courtney, CEO, ERIKS North America. “We are proud to celebrate our successful past as part of ERIKS’ 80th birthday, while maintaining that same passionate commitment to serving our customers around the world.”

After spending its first 48 years in the Netherlands and western Europe, ERIKS expanded to North America with the acquisition of ERIKS Seals and Plastics in 1988. As part of its continuing investment in North America, ERIKS acquired Rawson, Industrial Controls Distribution and Lewis-Goetz during a two-year span from 2010-11.

Specifically, the acquisitions of Rawson and Industrial Controls helped to expand ERIKS into selling valves and instrumentation products into the North American market. While the acquisition of Lewis-Goetz gave ERIKS additional product depth and a footprint that spans all throughout the U.S. and Canada.

In 2014, ERIKS North America was officially established for all North American-owned companies and their subsidiaries. ERIKS North America now features a comprehensive lineup of product groups ranging from industrial and hydraulic hoses, engineered plastics and flow control products, to gaskets, seals, conveying systems and more.

For more information about ERIKS North America, its history and current offering of products, technologies and services, visit the company website.