Today, C.J. Erickson Plumbing Co. employs over 100 people including union plumbers, laborers and operating engineers. We specialize in commercial plumbing, industrial plumbing, hydro-excavation and site utility and underground services. Our formula for success remains grounded in strict adherence to quality, technology and industry innovation. At C.J. Erickson, our ongoing goal is clear… to be the best company to work for and the best company to work with. Period.
Matt Erickson is the fourth generation to lead the company, and like his father before him, entrusts the business to his valuable team.
In 1906, Carl Joseph “Joe” Erickson immigrated to America from Sweden, settling in Chicago. Joe, an accomplished plumber, signed with Plumbers Local 130 and set out to live the American Dream, opening his own shop at 58th and Halsted. The reputation of C.J. Erickson Plumbing grew quickly. In just a few short years, Erickson’s commitment to quality workmanship, professional service and fair pricing resulted in a rapidly expanding business. For the next couple decades, the company grew through World War I and embraced the roaring 20’s. Then the Depression hit.
Unlike many businesses, C.J. Erickson Plumbing didn’t just survive the Great Depression, it thrived. The hard work ethic that had sustained the company now propelled it into the future. From early on, C.J. Erickson Plumbing insisted that innovation, skill and the latest technology be a part of its operating philosophy. The company demonstrated its penchant for what’s possible when it purchased a fleet of pie delivery trucks and turned them into plumbing shops on wheels. It’s just the kind of imaginative thinking that the industry had, by this time, come to expect from C.J. Erickson Plumbing.
By 1946, the company had outgrown its original location and moved to more spacious headquarters on 87th Street, just east of Ashland Avenue. After World War II, Joe Erickson’s son, Norm joined the firm after serving in the military. It proved to be a case of like father, like son. Norm continued to employ the principles on which his father had built the business. Norm Erickson, obviously in possession of his father’s innovative spirit, initiated the practice of using a movable bucket backhoe to assist in restricted area excavations.
In 1975, C.J. Erickson Plumbing relocated once again to its present headquarters in Alsip, IL. Bill Erickson, Norm’s son and 3rd generation, lead the business into the 80’s and 90’s. In 2007 the leadership changed again to the current CEO and 4th Generation Matt Erickson.
