1947 - 2026
P.N. Erichsen was founded on May 2, 1947 by Peter Nansen Erichsen and his wife, Gisela Erichsen. As the son of parents who belonged to the German minority in Haderslev, and with a German wife from Hamburg, Peter faced a challenging situation in the period following the war. At one point, the couple even considered emigrating to New Zealand, far from the difficulties that Europe was experiencing at the time. However, their parents persuaded them to remain in Denmark, fearing they might never see them again if they left. Peter’s father also guaranteed an overdraft facility at Handelsbanken, which became the company’s initial capital. In early May 1947, Peter Nansen Erichsen, registered as a wholesaler, and Gisela Erichsen, serving as secretary, moved into rented offices at Amaliegade 13 in Copenhagen, marking the beginning of the company’s activities.
The original idea behind the business was “shipping,” combined with a great deal of hard work. The first transaction involved a shipment of cobras from Singapore to a company in Shanghai. The company, however, did not gain a real foothold until it began selling “gift packages” from a warehouse in the Free Port. At the time, there were import restrictions on luxury goods such as coffee, tobacco, tropical fruit and similar products. People with relatives in the United States could buy these sought-after goods from companies holding import licenses in the Free Port. Among other things, it became Gisela Erichsen’s task to visit the officials at the Directorate of Goods, as it soon turned out that she had a particular talent for getting the import licenses approved quickly (often more efficiently than her husband).
The gift package business was only viable as long as import restrictions remained in place, and the following years were marked by a certain degree of uncertainty. Nevertheless, there were also promising developments. One example was the company’s involvement in a barter arrangement between Japan and Denmark. At the time, tuberculosis was widespread in Japan, and there was considerable interest in a medicine produced in Denmark. Payment, however, could only be made in textiles, which were also in short supply in Denmark. Securing this transaction provided a significant boost to the company’s confidence, particularly as a number of major firms had also shown interest (the East Asiatic Company). In 1950, the “director” therefore spent extended periods in Japan in connection with this business.
In the early 1950s, the company faced a setback when, together with a German needle expert, they decided to purchase a tube factory to supply ready-made syringes to hospitals. Unfortunately, the so-called expert turned out to be less knowledgeable than expected, and the company lost all the savings it had built up. A remnant of this venture is the sister company INTRA, founded around the same time, which still trades in precision tubes today, thanks to the connections maintained with the people who took over the failed factory.
In 1953, Peter Erichsen was introduced to a Norwegian company through an old English friend he had known from his youth in Singapore. The Norwegian firm was a steel foundry specializing in supplying complete sternposts and rudders for ships, and it was looking to expand its market. On August 19, 1954, an agreement was made appointing P.N. Erichsen as the company’s agent in Germany, providing the firm with a foundation of steady income, something that was very much needed. The agency was later expanded to include France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Yugoslavia. This agency would go on to form an important basis for the company’s development throughout the 1960s and for its connection to the shipbuilding and heavy industries
In its early years, P.N. Erichsen covered a wide range of products, including:
Cheese
Coffee
Cigarettes
Needles
Tubes
Medicines
Castings
You could say it has always been “a mixed bag”.
Throughout the 1960s, the company’s ties with shipyards and the heavy Danish industry grew stronger, and its product range became focused mainly on forged and cast components for these sectors.
Peter and Gisela Erichsen had two sons, Peter and Olaf. Peter joined the company in 1964 after completing his training as an export merchant in Hamburg and working in the chemical industry. “Senior” had secured a new agency for metallic rudder bearings and believed there was now a basis for bringing “one of the boys” into the business. It turned out to be more difficult than expected, as earning a salary proved challenging. The focus was therefore on finding something new, and “Senior” firmly believed that “as long as you work hard, something good will come of it.”
Olaf joined the company in 1966, and the same principle applied to him, he just had to work hard and stay on his toes. With that mindset, Peter and Olaf ventured into areas they felt knowledgeable about. This led to a variety of products, including biscuits, furniture, decorative items, wigs, false eyelashes, and agricultural machinery. As the company’s current product range shows, these efforts met with limited success.
In 1970, Olaf moved to Bjerringbro, from where he continued his activities. Things became a bit more organized in 1972, when he relocated to Odense.
In Copenhagen, “Senior” maintained his Strømmens business with the German shipyards, though after the 1973 oil crisis, it was clearly approaching its final chapter. The long-standing agency concluded with Strømmen Steel’s closure in 1978.
P.N. Erichsen has never been a large company with many employees. When the giftware business began, 3–4 people were hired to assist with daily operations, and this staffing—beyond the owners—remained largely unchanged until the early 1970s. It is only in the past 15 years or so that gradual growth has justified an increased workforce, without whose help we would never have achieved the results that we can all be proud of today.
Since then, market conditions have changed, and the company’s product range was adjusted accordingly. Today, our core business is the supply of components to the marine and offshore industries, the petrochemical and pharmaceutical sectors, as well as to shipyards and shipping companies.
Today, P.N. Erichsen A/S is owned and operated by Esben Erichsen, representing the third generation. Esben joined the company … and took over from his father, Olaf, in 2005.
