Rooted in Legacy. Engineered to Innovate.
For 75 years, Derrick’s story has been fueled by customers who have put their trust in us, partners who challenged us and employees who believed in us. What began in Buffalo in 1951 has grown into a global footprint, with Derrick Corporation presence now on six of the world’s seven continents. Through every innovation and market challenge, our mission has solidified and strengthened. Our existence has been rooted in our ability to take on and solve the most difficult fine particle separation and dewatering problems for the industries we serve. As an independent and third generation-owned family business, our 75th anniversary is a testament to our continued development of innovative and reliable products, ongoing manufacturing process improvements and our outstanding global workforce.
“We offer the best products and the best people, and we never compromise on that.”
Driven Since Day One
The “Derrick Story” originates in Buffalo, where H. William Derrick Jr. was the first Derrick family member to obtain a college degree. He enrolled in Union College in 1935, receiving a degree in Electrical Engineering four years later. Post-graduation, he was employed by the Curtis Wright Company and worked as a design engineer producing P-40 aircraft. Following the end of WWII, he relocated to Cornell Research Labs and briefly joined his father-in-law, William L. Wettlaufer, who had invented a series of small vibrating motor products. It was during this period that he began thinking about further applications with vibratory mechanisms. In the late 1940s, Bill “The Chief” Derrick began the development of a high-speed vibrating motor, capable of separating small abrasive grain products rapidly and accurately into various closely sized groupings. Ultimately (and after a series of frustrating setbacks), the revolutionary Model 36K vibrating motor launched—and would become the heart of Derrick screening machines for decades to follow, with applications in the Industrial Minerals, Mining and Food & Chemical Industries.
”In the beginning, we worked hand in hand to make these first few machines, and that collaboration is still what’s happening in the company today.”
Innovation Meets the Industry
Derrick’s reputation has always been to tackle the most difficult fine screening problems. As a result, a continual stream of innovative machine and screening surface designs have evolved. The plugging or blinding of screen openings with slightly oversized particles has always proved to be a major obstacle to efficient and consistent fine particle sizing. Derrick’s patented “Sandwich Screen” provided a solution. By intermeshing two fine screens together within a single assembly, blinding tendencies were discouraged and, in many cases, eliminated. This combination was even more effective in wet screening applications.
In the late 1970’s, Derrick introduced its first solids control High Boy Shale Shaker into the Oil & Gas industry. The machine made an almost instant contribution to the successful removal of fine solids from a variety of expensive drilling fluids. Over the following four decades, Derrick introduced a number of updated shaker designs, including the Low Profile (LP) Shaker, Flo-Line Cleaner, Hyperpool and, most recently, the Hyperpool GT. These innovative machine design improvements, along with Super G vibrators and our patented “Pyramid” screen surfaces, have improved processing of higher fluid volumes and finer micron separations, making Derrick the unmatched leader in solids control solutions.
Our Mining and Industrial and Civil markets have also benefited from Derrick innovations. Paired with our dry screening machines, the Multifeed Wet Sizer and its Sandwich screens allowed for unprecedented increases in tonnage and fluid throughput. Our Stack Sizer and SuperStack Sizer wet machines, both equipped with high-open-area urethane screening surfaces, have set a new standard for performance.
“You’ve got to be able to provide better service, and you’ve got to have equipment rugged enough to withstand the rigors of the application it’s involved in, and we’re really good at that.”
The People Behind the Progress
While technology evolves, one thing remains unchanged: the people. With hundreds of employees— including more than 20% who have been at Derrick for two decades or more—the company’s strength has always come from the team members who show up, day after day, to build, refine, support and stand behind the work we do. Their experience, loyalty and care are the quiet backbone of every advancement we’ve made.
Derrick’s culture is shaped by more than expertise. It’s shaped by community. From volunteer projects and local giveback efforts to fishing derbies and crawfish festivals, the heartbeat of Derrick has always been the connections between our people and the communities around us. In many ways, those traditions say as much about who we are as any piece of equipment ever could.
That commitment to service doesn’t stop inside the company. It extends to every rig, mine and operation where our teams are called to help. It’s one of the reasons we’ve consistently earned top service ratings from Energy Point Research—our “always available” mindset and field support that doesn’t end once equipment leaves the facility. Today, Derrick stands stronger than ever, as a global company defined by innovation and powered by teams that consistently deliver world-class results. We treat customers like partners and carry our values into every rig, mine and operation. We believe in building trust through both expertise and action, and our growth reflects the strength of that commitment. Derrick is driven by our legacy of people that show up, step up and believe in what’s possible.
“It’s ingrained in us to be there for the customer. We are here to solve their toughest challenges that nobody else can.”
Eyes Forward. Minds Sharp. Goals Set.
As we celebrate our 75 years, we’re propelled by what comes next. Derrick’s solid foundation empowers us to continue creating solutions that help customers do more with less and support long-term sustainability.
To our customers, partners and every Derrick team member past and present, thank you for 75 years of trust, ingenuity and shared progress. The next chapter is already in motion, guided by the same curiosity, collaboration and commitment that brought us here.
Here’s to the future—and shaping it together.
“This isn’t the finish line. It’s a new start line.”