Business Spotlight: Worth its Weight

Precision is a major goal of MCS Calibration Inc., a company that specializes in testing and certifying measurement equipment for a variety of industries.

“We test, evaluate and certify instruments that industries use for measuring things,” says Mike Line, the company’s Midwest quality manager. “They give it to us, or we go on site and we evaluate, test them, write down some data, and give them a certificate of compliance that this device is within its stated manufacturer’s powers or accuracy.”

Mike Line and Jayne Line, were tapped in late 2009 to open the Springfield division at 1440 E. Lark St., Ste. B. The Holbrook, N.Y.-based company had identified Springfield as a growth market for its foray into the Midwest.

Providing calibration and testing of commercial measuring equipment for such industries as aviation, automotive, law enforcement, manufacturing and health care, the Springfield office has collected more than 40 total clients says Mike Line, since opening in January 2010.

Roy Wilcox started MCS Calibration in 1989, and his son, Richard, inherited the company and brought on longtime employee Kenneth Lamar.

Lamar says MCS has 2,000 active customers companywide, and the Springfield office has added more than 30 customers in the last six months while generating $150,000 in its first full year of business.

Corporatewide revenues topped $1.5 million in 2010, he says.

Springfield refrigeration company KBC Storage, 1904 N. LeCompte Ave., moved its calibration of thermometers and temperature charts to MCS out of convenience, says Nathan Ketchum, KBC warehouse manager.

“We used to send off the equipment for testing. MCS comes and picks up everything,” he says. “It saves time.”

Midwest Operations Manager Jayne Line says the volume of work for clients varies widely. Common instruments tested include pressure devices, torque wrenches and temperature measuring equipment.

“Some clients we have are smaller. They may have only 10 to 20 pieces they calibrate in a year, but other companies that we work with can have thousands,” she says.

The price on calibration tests for single instruments range between $25 and $250 based on the type of equipment and how much work goes into testing it, Mike Line says.

MCS is certified by the International Organization of Standardization, an accreditation that most clients view as a necessity, he notes.

“If they are an aviation company, they are required by the (Federal Aviation Administration) and the Department of Transportation to have their (instruments) they use tested and evaluated to tell whether they are air worthy,” Line says.  

MCS is able to calibrate with standards that meet or exceed requirements for ISO 9001 – for quality management systems – and ISO 17025 – for testing and calibration laboratories, according to Lamar.

Additionally, with the company’s accreditations at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, clients can check up on MCS’ equipment standards, says Jayne Line.

Jayne Line says the competition in this area is minimal. The closest companies that provide the same ISO and NIST standards are located in St. Louis and the Tulsa, Okla., area, she says. Springfield competitor Lew Rauch DCS Inc. could not be reached by press time.

Going forward, Lamar says he’d like to see MCS’ Springfield branch add four or five employees within two years and increase revenues.

“I would like to see ourselves at $200,000 to $300,000 in revenues in the next year or two,” he adds.[[In-content Ad]]