P.N. Erichsen was founded May 2, 1947 by Peter Nansen Erichsen and his wife Gisela. During the war, the couple stayed in Norway, where Peter Erichsen was the manager of a freight forwarding company. After the war, conditions were difficult for the family, with their connection to the German minority in Denmark and Gisela’s background from Hamburg, thus they considered emigrating to New Zealand. However, the family persuaded them to stay in Denmark, and with financial support from Peter’s father, they were able to start the company in rented premises at Amaliegade 13 in Copenhagen.
The idea was based on the vague concept of import/export and the first business was an order for goods from Singapore to be delivered in Shanghai. However, the company only really got a foothold when it started selling so-called “gift packages” from a warehouse in the Free Port. At that time, there were import restrictions on luxury goods such as coffee and tobacco, but if you had relatives in the USA who were willing to send dollars, you could buy the coveted goods from companies with import permits and warehouses in the Free Port. An important part of this work fell to Gisela Erichsen, who was responsible for the contact with the officials in the Directorate of Goods. It turned out that she had a much greater talent for quickly getting import permits approved than her husband
As the restrictions gradually disappeared, business became more uncertain, but new opportunities arose. Among other things, the company participated in a barter trade between Denmark and Japan, where Danish tuberculosis medicine was exchanged for Japanese textiles, which were in short supply in Denmark. The trade strengthened the company’s position, and in 1950 Peter Erichsen spent long periods in Japan.
In the early 1950s, the company suffered a significant setback. Together with a German specialist in needle production, it was decided to buy a tube factory that would supply finished syringes to the hospital sector. However, it turned out that the specialist’s expertise did not meet expectations, and the investment cost the company all its savings.
In 1953, Peter Erichsen came into contact with a Norwegian company through an old English friend from his youth in Singapore. The company was a steel foundry specializing in complete stern and rudder systems for ships that wanted to expand its market and in 1954 we were appointed agent for Strømmens Værksted in Germany.
Throughout the 50s and 60s, the collaboration was expanded and became an important foundation for the company’s growth and as our relationship with the shipyards and heavy Danish industry strengthened, our product range gradually shifted towards primarily forged and cast items for these industries.
Peter and Gisela Erichsen had two sons, Peter and Olaf. After training as an export merchant in Hamburg and a subsequent job in the chemicals industry, Peter joined the company in 1964. The reason was that “Senior” had just got a new agency for metallic rudder bearings and believed that there was now a basis for taking “one of the boys” into the company.
Olaf joined the company in 1966, and the same expectations applied to him: he had to be diligent and always be on the cutting edge. Peter and Olaf ventured into a wide range of business fields in which they believed they possessed particular expertise. As a result, the company’s portfolio became remarkably diverse, spanning everything from cookies, furniture, and decorative arts to wigs, false eyelashes, and agricultural machinery
However, as the company’s current product range attests, the successes were somewhat limited.
In 1970, Olaf moved to Bjerringbro, from where he continued his activities. However, it was not until he moved to Odense in 1972 that the work really became more structured.
In Copenhagen, “Senior” continued the business with Strømmen and the German shipyards, although this part of the company gradually declined after the oil crisis in 1973. The long-standing agency finally ended with the closure of Strømmen Staal in 1978.
Today, P.N. Erichsen A/S is owned and operated by Esben Erichsen, who is the 3rd generation of the family
Esben started in the company in 1998 and with his enthusiasm and determination, he took part in expanding the business when we, around the turn of the millennium, started having castings and forgings produced first in India and later on also in China.
In 2001 we bought Otto Køhlers Maskinfabrik in Horsens, with the ambition of being able to machine components for the wind turbine industry ourselves. Components that we previously had outsourced for machining by other machine shops. This adventure lasted until 2005 when we had to acknowledge that the old saying “Stick to what you know” still had its relevance.
⚓ A 31-ton SPEK-anchor for Madison Maersk ⚓
Throughout the first half of the 2000s, Esben gradually assumed leadership of the company, and by 2005 the formalities of handing over the company to the next generation was complete, while Olaf remained actively involved on a daily basis in a sales support role.
Throughout the 00s and 10s, the business grew steadily, and in 2019 we reached another milestone when we delivered the largest anchor in the company’s history.
An order that required a lot of planning and coordination with the factory, classification society, the installation company and last but not least the vessel, as the new anchor had to be installed while the vessel called the port in Ningbo.
Our company is (and has always been) characterized by a vibrant, dynamic and flat organization, where proximity between management and employees and among employees, creates the energy and dynamics in the organization.
Since the beginning in 1947, changing market conditions have defined our development, and we have continuously adapted the range.
We started as an import/export company, trading in goods as diverse as cheese, coffee, pipes, medicine and castings. Today, our core business is supplying components to the oil, food, wind and engineering sectors, as well as to shipyards and Danish shipping companies for their global fleet of vessels.
In 2020/2021, things took a new turn when Denmark went into a national state of emergency due to COVID-19, which meant that for the first time in the company’s history we were forced to partially shut down for shorter and longer periods.
This challenge was solved by alternating staffing in the office and working from home, so that we could still help our customers with the delivery of urgent orders.
After the “Corona years”, Olaf decided to retire at the age of 78, but he still stays fully updated on the company and our ongoing activities – even if he now only drops by once in a while.
So… we’re still a "mixed business" — and it works pretty well
