Eriez Manufacturing Co., Erie, Pa., marked 70 years of partnership with High Point, N.C.-based manufacturers’ representative agency Dominion-Carolina Sales Inc. Eriez honored this long-standing relationship by presenting the Dominion-Carolina team with a commemorative plaque during the 2017 Eriez Business Conference in Erie in early October.
The foundation for this collaboration was laid in 1947, when Bob Merwin, son of Eriez Founder O.F. Merwin, and Dean Thomas, a retired schoolteacher who ultimately formed Dominion-Carolina, initiated the partnership with a handshake.
“It’s incredible to think that Eriez, which is celebrating 75 years in business in 2017, was still very much in its infancy at this time,” says Charlie Ingram, Eriez vice president of sales and marketing.
While both Eriez and Dominion-Carolina have grown and evolved over decades and generations, both have remained family-run companies. Today, Jeff Carr, Thomas’s stepson, serves as Dominion-Carolina president while Richard Merwin, grandson of O.F., is Eriez’s chairman.
Although Eriez's partnerships with a number of United States sales representative companies date back more than 50 years, the company’s 70-year relationship with Dominion-Carolina is its longest. According to Eriez, Dominion-Carolina has consistently been a top sales performer over the years, twice earning Eriez’s coveted Merwin Sales Award.
“We are so proud and grateful to be associated with the top-notch team at Dominion-Carolina,” says Ingram. “The knowledge and experience they bring into the field each day offers immense benefits to our mutual customers and helps both of our companies to flourish.” He adds, “We look forward to working together for another 70 years and beyond."
