International licensing & market development
Opening new European markets for wall-system licensors: finding and signing the right producers, and turning a signed licence into a working business.
Architecture · Licensing · Concrete systems
Erik Nelson
Architect AIA, MNAL, RIBA
Architecture, licensing and concrete manufacturing — joined up across European markets.
A licensed architect in Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States who has spent three decades building international business for concrete wall-system companies — establishing licensee producer networks across Europe and supporting them through production, sales, engineering, wall design and construction.
Based in Sola, Norway
Track record
By the numbers.
- Licensee producers established
- 49
- Signed and brought into production across five wall-system and product licensors.
- Markets worked in
- 22
- From the Nordics and the British Isles to the Mediterranean, Central Europe and the Gulf.
- Countries of registration
- 3
- A licensed and registered architect in the United States, Norway and the United Kingdom.
- In practice since
- 1986
- Four decades spanning architectural practice and the concrete products industry.
About
Architect first, market builder by practice.
Erik Nelson is an architect by training and an international business builder by practice. He studied architecture at the University of Minnesota and the Norwegian Institute of Technology in Trondheim, and holds architectural registration in the United States, Norway and the United Kingdom.
Since founding Keystone Norge and Keystone Sverige in 1994 — where he designed and established a concrete block plant in Norway from scratch — he has represented North American and European wall-system licensors across Europe: Anchor, Risi Stone, Recon, and since 2023 Easy Block. In each role he has been the person who opens the market, signs the producer, and then stays to make the partnership work.
Expertise
What Erik is brought in to do.
Concrete manufacturing
Production systems, plant equipment, moulds and forms, and product development — including establishing a concrete block plant in Norway from the ground up.
Architecture & engineering collaboration
A registered architect in three countries, working alongside engineers on wall design, detailing and constructability rather than at arm’s length from them.
Sales & business development
Launching products into unfamiliar markets and building the sales organisations, distribution and relationships that carry them.
Producer & licensee support
Long-term support for manufacturing partners across production, sales, engineering, wall design and construction.
International reach
Markets Erik has worked in.
Decades spent building and supporting producer networks — market by market, plant by plant, across Europe and beyond.
22markets across
6 regions
6 regions
Nordics
- Norway
- Sweden
- Denmark
- Iceland
Britain & Ireland
- United Kingdom
- Northern Ireland
Central & Western Europe
- Germany
- Austria
- Switzerland
- Belgium
- France
- Luxembourg
Southern Europe
- Spain
- Portugal
- Italy
- Greece
- Cyprus
Central & Eastern Europe
- Poland
- Czech Republic
- Romania
Beyond Europe
- Kuwait
- United States
Selected experience
Three decades of opening markets.
The roles that shaped Erik’s work with licensors, producers and manufacturers — most recent first.
2023 – Present
Austria
Easy Block GmbH
International Sales Director / Independent Contractor
Building the European licensor business for Easy Block from start-up, and supporting the producer network that has grown around it.
- 7 licensee producers
- 15 producers supported
- Developed the licensor business for Easy Block as a start-up in Europe.
- Supports the wider European producer network in production, sales, engineering, wall design and construction.
- Norway
- Poland
- Luxembourg
- Cyprus
2006 – 2022
Minnesota, USA
Recon Wall Systems, Inc.
Director of International Operations / Independent Contractor
Sixteen years directing Recon’s international operations, building the largest producer network of Erik’s career.
- 22 licensee producers
- 24 plants
- 13 markets
- Built and ran Recon’s European licensee network over sixteen years.
- Supported producers in production, sales, engineering, wall design and construction.
- Norway
- Sweden
- Iceland
- Northern Ireland
- Spain
- Austria
- Belgium
- France
- Switzerland
- Crete
- Cyprus
- Gran Canaria
- Romania
Credentials
Registered in three countries.
Erik is a licensed and registered architect in the United States, Norway and the United Kingdom — a combination that lets him work with architects, engineers and producers on their own terms.
Registration & professional memberships
AIA
United States
American Institute of Architects
Registered Architect, AIA
MNAL
Norway
Norwegian Architect Association
Registered Civil Architect, MNAL
RIBA
United Kingdom
Royal Institute of British Architects
Registered Chartered Architect, RIBA
Education
1980 – 1985
University of Minnesota
School of Architecture · Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Bachelor of Architecture (BArch)
1983 – 1984
Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH)
School of Architecture · Trondheim, Norway
Architecture studies
Dual Norwegian and United States citizenship
Contact
Let’s connect
For conversations around architecture, concrete manufacturing, international licensing, producer development or opening a new market, contact Erik directly.
Email
erikne@online.noPhone
+47 913 16 611Based in
Sola, Norway