Mecmesin celebrates 30th birthday on the BBC

To mark its 30th anniversary Mecmesin, manufacturer of force and torque testing systems, recently appeared on BBC 2 business programme Working Lunch.

The episode, which aired on April 27th showcased the testing capabilities of Mecmesin equipment, featured demonstrations of typical applications and interviewed the company’s chairman, Robert Oakley, to provide an overview of Mecmesin’s successful 35 year history and its plans for future global growth, focussing in particular on the company’s imminent expansion into China.

Mecmesin began life 35 years ago as a UK sales agent for a US manufacturer of force testing equipment. “Back in those days we noticed a real demand throughout Europe for affordable test systems that could withstand tough factory conditions, which we felt wasn’t being exploited to its full potential,” recalls Robert Oakley, “this prompted us to set about developing, manufacturing and selling our own brand of equipment.” That brand was Mecmesin, an abbreviation of Mechanical Measuring Instruments, the name of the pre-existing company which Robert’s father, Jim Oakley, an accomplished design engineer started in 1974.

Mecmesin’s pioneering systems offered high-end accuracy at an affordable price, which, coupled with rugged build quality, paved the way for sophisticated force testing, normally reserved for materials laboratories, to be performed as a quality control measure on manufactured components at the point of production.

This unique offering placed Mecmesin in a highly advantageous competitive position, enabling the company to not only survive through 35 very difficult years for British manufacturing, but to thrive. The product range has evolved from small handheld force gauges, to a broad variety of force testing systems, from tiny ‘smart’ loadcells no larger than a 2 Euro coin, to powerful, computer-controlled twin-column systems with a 25 kN capacity. The company has also been at the forefront of developing torque testing solutions for small rotary components, recent years having seen the launch of the Orbis, a screw closure tester, and the Vortex, a sophisticated motorised torque system.

Since its inception, Mecmesin has successfully pursued a strategy of globalisation, developing a closely-knit network of sales agents throughout more than 50 countries across the world. The company has also opened regional offices in USA and Thailand, which will shortly be joined by a third in Shanghai, China. Today, international sales account for over 70% of the company’s revenue.