NLT Lighting Solutions has announced that Norway-based distributor Erik Welle-Strand of EWS & Co. will be the first person inducted into the NLT Hall of Fame. One of the company’s original distributors, Erik joined the NLT team in 1984. Extraordinarily, as a one-man operation, he is responsible for 20% of the 175,000 Rebel/Polaris lamps sold worldwide.
“Erik’s long-standing and outstanding representation of our cap lamps in Europe has been a major factor in NLT’s enduring global success,” said NLT General Manager Fred Kopeschny. “We are pleased to celebrate this extraordinary man and his many contributions.”
Erik is something of a living legend in Scandinavian mining and tunneling industries. In fact, one might think that the stories about him are merely tall tales, but they are actually true. Whether it’s racing cars, piloting his boat further north than any landmass in the world (next stop, North Pole), or Nordic Ski Jumping (something he only recently gave up) there is no questioning Erik’s lust for life.
Erik’s commitment to excellence is the foundation on which he’s built his business. Industry veterans say he could write the book on how to exceed a customer’s expectations – like the time he delivered cap lamps by driving his Ski-Doo 60km to an Arctic mine site that was inaccessible by road.
He recently presented a representative from a Norwegian tunneling company with a gold-plated NLT Rebel cap lamp to celebrate their purchase of the 35,000th Rebel/Polaris lamp sold by EWS.
As the very first NLT Hall of Fame inductee, Erik will be awarded a plaque at a dinner in his honor.