Nimlok Chicago wishes the Nimlok brand a happy 50th anniversary!
On March 3, 1970 fifty years ago, Nimlok began as a small display kit in London, England and today Nimlok has grown into a full-service exhibit house in 56 countries with 200 distribution partners.
It all began when Neil Nimmo, a British-born commercial photographer, designed a clip-and-panel portable backdrop system with locking clips to display his works. Seeing the potential in the exhibition and display industry, Nimmo reached out to Gerald Perutz to commercialize his idea. Born in Vienna, Austria, Gerald immigrated to England where he befriended Nimmo before moving to Chicago. Once settled in the States, Gerald saw the opportunity in the market for Nimlok and with the help of his son Simon, opened the first Nimlok US distributorship in 1981.
Soon after, Nimlok turned its tool free connecting panels perfect for portable exhibits into a system with posts, graphics and several other methods of locks and connections to provide customers with custom modular exhibits. With an extensive amount of portable display products, in-house design exhibits and graphics, and a vast distribution network, Nimlok has become a global company dedicated to the development of trade show exhibit solutions.
With an emphasis on continuing to be the industry leader, Nimlok Chicago appointed Andrew Perutz, son of Simon and grandson of Gerald, as President at the beginning of 2020. In this next decade, Nimlok Chicago will continue to focus on an eco-conscious approach through recyclable structures and working with eco-friendly partners. Another key strategy Nimlok Chicago will continue to focus on is custom designs, the ultimate expression of our craft.