- Erkelens & Olson, a Salt Lake City auction house, celebrated 50 years on Wednesday.
- The pandemic forced a shift to online auctions, but it boosted the company’s growth.
- Owner Rob Olson values family collaboration and anticipates future generational involvement.
SALT LAKE CITY — For decades, auctions at Erkelens & Olson meant crowds packed into a room, hands raised and an auctioneer calling bids faster than most people could follow.
Today, the auction house still sells thousands of items each week, but the bidders are no longer standing in the warehouse; they’re online.
The Salt Lake City business is celebrating 50 years and three generations of family ownership, and the owners said a change forced by the COVID-19 pandemic helped the company grow even more…