Drive by Eriez Magnetics' corporate headquarters on Asbury Road any given day, and you'll probably find a flag flying from a foreign country next to their American flag. "Customers from other countries are our guests," says Mike Latimer, corporate Web services manager. "We want them to feel welcome."

Doing business domestically and internationally was an original part of the plan for the Merwin Family when they started Eriez. Orange Fowler Merwin, or O.F. as he was known to most, originally sold equipment to grain millers. When his customers mentioned the centuries-old problem of finding random bits of metal in the grain, O.F. worked to solve it by developing a magnet to attract the foreign objects from the food. He went into business with his new idea in 1942.

"O.F.'s son, Bob, thought that if he could build small machinery closer to the place where he wanted to sell them, he would save money on shipping and could remain competitive with local markets," Latimer says. "So we originally started in Erie, but we expanded early, and now we're all over the world."

Eriez is a worldwide leader in separation technology, developing innovative magnetic, flotation and filtration solutions for their international list of clients. Eriez also makes material handling products, including feeders, conveyors, screeners and lifting magnets. They additionally work in the product inspection field, developing products that use metal detection and sampling technologies.

"I think it's fair to say that if I walked into any manufacturing facility, there would be an application for something we do at Eriez," says Director of Corporate Communications John Blicha. "We are unique in that we have our hands in lots of different industries."

Latimer says Eriez is a unique place to work. "We treat others the way we want to be treated. We do things not because they make sense dollar-wise, but because they are the right things to do," he says. "Those things set us apart."Drive by Eriez Magnetics' corporate headquarters on Asbury Road any given day, and you'll probably find a flag flying from a foreign country next to their American flag. "Customers from other countries are our guests," says Mike Latimer, corporate Web services manager. "We want them to feel welcome."

Doing business domestically and internationally was an original part of the plan for the Merwin Family when they started Eriez. Orange Fowler Merwin, or O.F. as he was known to most, originally sold equipment to grain millers. When his customers mentioned the centuries-old problem of finding random bits of metal in the grain, O.F. worked to solve it by developing a magnet to attract the foreign objects from the food. He went into business with his new idea in 1942.

"O.F.'s son, Bob, thought that if he could build small machinery closer to the place where he wanted to sell them, he would save money on shipping and could remain competitive with local markets," Latimer says. "So we originally started in Erie, but we expanded early, and now we're all over the world."

Eriez is a worldwide leader in separation technology, developing innovative magnetic, flotation and filtration solutions for their international list of clients. Eriez also makes material handling products, including feeders, conveyors, screeners and lifting magnets. They additionally work in the product inspection field, developing products that use metal detection and sampling technologies.

"I think it's fair to say that if I walked into any manufacturing facility, there would be an application for something we do at Eriez," says Director of Corporate Communications John Blicha. "We are unique in that we have our hands in lots of different industries."

Latimer says Eriez is a unique place to work. "We treat others the way we want to be treated. We do things not because they make sense dollar-wise, but because they are the right things to do," he says. "Those things set us apart."