Celebrating its 50th anniversary, ERB Industries, Inc. has come a long way from its roots as a plastic injection molding company. Founded in 1956 by Bill Erb, the Woodstock, Ga., firm began making safety helmets in the early 1970s, and from that point ERB’s safety product line has expanded to include a complete line of personal protective equipment (PPE).

To stay successful for 50 years, the employee-owned company has maintained a straightforward business approach: to develop and maintain long-term customer relationships by providing exceptional value and service and to remain a good corporate citizen by maintaining a high level of professionalism and ethics, says Sheila Eads, president, ERB Industries.

“We work diligently to earn and maintain business,” says Eads. “Our current business slogan states it concisely — ‘sourcing made simple.’”

Quick to react

ERB Industries is quick to react to customers’ requests, insists Eads. “Whether it is a request to ship a rush order or to work with customers in developing new safety products, we gladly and proudly work to meet the deadlines and demands. We feel our company size allows different departments to communicate easily and react quickly in meeting requests.”

The company is an industry leader in the production of head protection products. It offers a vast color array, multiple head protection designs and low minimums. It utilizes state-of-the-art printing equipment to efficiently produce quality customized safety helmets.

“Not too many domestic head protection companies are as self-sufficient as ERB,” says Eads.

ERB designs, builds and maintains all its head protection molds in its Woodstock, Ga., manufacturing facility. By housing all parts of the manufacturing and distribution process at the same facility the company is able to ship over 93 percent of all orders complete by the next business day, a goal maintained annually and tracked through the company’s ISO 9001 compliance system.

Loyal to distributors

Says Eads, “We make it easy for a distributor of safety products to purchase from us, as we understand the value not only of quality products but also of superb service, the reduction of the customer’s inventory investment and low order minimums to receive free ground freight. In short, we help the distributor tailor their programs. We have open communication with our distributors, aiding them in increasing their sales by ERB remaining flexible and responsive to requests.”

ERB has enjoyed double-digit growth annually for the past four years, according to Eads, and much of that growth has come from a focused approach of meeting face-to-face with its customers to derive the best programs to drive sales to the end-user.

As for the future, ERB will continue to work on product development to help maintain the value that ERB provides its distributors. “Product development is the key to our future,” says Eads. “As we have rounded out our core products offerings, ERB has taken advantage of our in-house R&D and technical expertise to develop more technical products for niche markets. We see this as a method to better serve the distributor.”

ERB Industries, Inc., www.e-erb.com, (770) 926-7944

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