The Most Perfect Weighing Machine

The oldest component of the Emery Winslow Scale Company is the A.H. Emery Company, one of the world's oldest manufacturers of hydraulic load cells and force measurement products. Founded in 1868 by scientist-engineer Albert Hamilton Emery, the Connecticut company manufactured hydraulic and pneumatic force measurement systems which were developed primarily for use in strength of materials testing machines.

The most famous machine ever developed by A.H. Emery was started in 1873, the year in which the U.S. Congress appropriated money for the design and manufacture of a machine to test iron and steel to settle the question regarding the merits of iron vs. steel for use in cannons. The testing machine, capable of testing materials up to loads of 1,000,000 pounds, was delivered to Watertown Arsenal. Watertown, Mass. in 1879. Newspapers of the day hailed it as the "Trailblazer of the Machine Age." Once installed, the machine immediately began to make engineering history. A 5-inch diameter steel bar was inserted, the hydraulic pressure turned on, and the eyes of the experts watched the mounting pressure on the gauge. Finally the needle indicated a load of 722,800 pounds, and the steel bar collapsed and broke under the load-more than 361 tons. The iron vs. steel question was settled.
The fractured steel was taken out and a horsehair inserted and adjusted for a tensile test. The hair became taut under the pull of the mighty machine and suddenly snapped at the load of 16 ounces. A section of the same hair was then tested with a delicate spring balance, and again, its breaking was affirmed to be 16 ounces. Since then, engineering textbooks have referred to the Emery apparatus as "The most perfect weighing machine ever devised." It has become the model for innumerable similar devices.

In 1896, 21 years after A.H. Emery Company began, another engineer-inventor, Marlon Winslow, opened a small machine shop in Terre Haute, Ind. The new company was called the Winslow Government Standard Scale and specialized in building wagon scales. Winslow and his wife, who handled the business side of the Enterprise, manufactured what became the most popular wagon scale in that coal town area. It was from this local success that Winslow began to grow and serve other industries throughout the nation.
Marion Winslow
Unlike Winslow, A.H. Emery Company didn't enter into the scale business initially. Its reputation was built on the excellent performance of the hydraulic load cell in the testing machine field. In the early 1900s, however, a gradual transition was made into the weighing and force measurement field. The hydraulic load cell, due to its excellent accuracy and ruggedness, found a ready acceptance in the weighing field. Today, Emery manufactures a line of hydraulic load cells with capacities ranging from 100 pounds to 1,000,000 pounds. The largest cell ever built-12,000,000 pound capacity-was designed by Emery for the Nation Bureau of Standards.

While Emery was making precision testing equipment at the turn of the century, Winslow was adding to its industrial line railroad track scales, depot scales, warehouse scales, stock scales, and truck scales. Construction was also strong in that era with the building of dams, bridges, highways, and pipelines. Winslow became involved in the growing construction market with its heavy-duty scales and batching equipment and became well known in the construction world.

It was the diversification of products that helped Winslow, and through its program of quality production, sound growth, and continuing innovations, it was able to survive the great depression in the thirties. Throughout its history, Winslow was very successful in the deign and manufacture of scales, especially truck scales for construction and farm trades.

Over 248 years of scale and force measurement experience is represented in the newly named Emery Winslow Scale Company. Emery (since 1868) and Winslow (since 1896) were already joined in 1974, combining Winslow's vast weighbridge experience with Emery's process system and load cell strengths. The two companies shared technology but basically operated as separate entities. Now they will operate as one, for maximum utilization of resources and name recognition.

A commitment has been made by the company to dramatically expand its distribution capacity through the independent scale dealer network in the United States. The new name will be seen in advertisements and literature as part of this sales and marketing strategy.

According to William Fischer, president of the company since 1990, "Our mission is to design, manufacture and sell the most reliable weighing products on the market, particularly for harsh environments where the load cells are subject to washdown, stray voltages, corrosion, etc., or must be located in explosive areas. That's what we are really good at," he says. "We like to give the best value to our customers-the lowest cost of ownership. That's really the hallmark of Emery Winslow."

This mission statement means that Emery Winslow will focus on what it does best-provide alternative weighing products which can dramatically reduce the downtime that end users may be experiencing in washdown or outdoor weighing applications. This focus will channel the long history and experience of these two companies for optimum results.

Administrative, engineering and marketing functions will continue to be headquartered at Emery Winslow's newly constructed offices in Seymour, CT. Manufacturing will be done at the 80,000-square foot plant in Terre Haute, IN.

"The opportunities for Emery Winslow are very substantial," says Walter Young, chairman of the board. "They are directly related to getting our distribution network in place and functioning properly."

As part of the new direction of distribution, scale dealers are becoming a bigger part of the Emery Winslow organization. There are still areas in the country that are totally unrepresented. A concerted effort will be made to find independent scale dealers to cover these areas.

Rudi Baisch, VP Sales at Emery Winslow, CT, agrees. "We believe the right method for expansion for us is through the independent dealer. We have a unique product line which offers a dealer the opportunity to differentiate himself from his competitors. He can sell real user benefits to his customers instead of just selling on price alone."

The company manufactures a fairly diverse line of products, including mechanical truck scales, as well as conventional electronic load cell scales. However, the flagship of the product line is its hydrostatic load cell technology which has been developed and refined by Emery Winslow to an extremely high level of performance, complete with NTEP approval. This technology is most visible in its, tank- scale, floor scale and truck scale products.

"Probably the reason we've been so successful in commercial weighing," says Young, "is because of the development of the totalizer, a device which sums multiple hydrostatic pressures and converts them into a single, precise electronic signal. That is, and remains, an Emery Winslow exclusive."

Surprisingly, over 90 percent of the hydrostatic-based scales in the Emery Winslow line are supplied with electronic digital indicators and controls, including computer interface options. This combination of hydrostatic load cells with electronic readout and instrumentation is called "Hytronics." By combining these two technologies, the user gets the best of both worlds, and can keep the sensitive electronics away from the floor or pit where washdowns, shock loads, etc. might adversely affect electronic load cells.

After discussing the merits of hydrostatic load cells, one wonders why more people don't use them. "One reason is that historically they have been very high priced, and customers would pay premiums compared to conventional strain gage load cell systems. Customers are still willing to pay extra for the benefits we offer, but today we have made it easier with far more competitive prices."

Perhaps their biggest obstacle, according to Baisch, "is that very few people have heard about our products, and others have preconceived notions which are way off track. In the past we have done a poor job of getting the word out and dispelling the myths regarding our technology."

The Emery Winslow load cell is a relatively simple device. In essence, a thin film of fluid is held between the base and head of the load cell. Even in a 200,000 pound capacity cell, this film of oil is only .030 inch thick. It is a closed loop system with no pumps or reservoirs as is often associated with other hydrostatic devices. An entire 70-foot truck scale with eight load cells uses about a pint of fluid, little more than a coffee cup full. When weight is applied, a precise linear pressure is transferred by the non compressible fluid to the totalizer for conversion to an electronic millivolt signal. There is actually no movement of fluid.

The hydrostatic load cell scales are installed as simply as electronic scales, and instead of strain gage cable, hydrostatic lines (.125 inch dia.) are run to the totalizer, "hydrostatic load cells are designed for long term dependability," says Baisch, "and our customers can get it without sacrificing accuracy or sophisticated electronic controls."

The newest product introduction by Emery Winslow is the LIFEMOUNT weigh module for tanks, hoppers, blenders and conveyors. Only 3 1/8 inches high, it has a lifetime warranty against damage from water and stray voltages. It is also manufactured out of grade 304 stainless steel, including the load cell itself, for high corrosion resistance.

The company uses its engineering expertise for a substantial amount of custom designed systems. Such projects completed in 1993 included a system to weigh an entire aircraft for Boeing and submerged scales to weigh killer whales for Sea World. "Our technology allows us to manufacture load cells out of special materials, while electronic load cells are quite limited," says Baisch. "We have a standard production load cell of grade 304 stainless steel, probably the only one in the world, and we can make cells out of monel, hastelloy or other alloys for special applications, including very high temperatures. The fact that these cells are non-electric also makes them completely safe for even the most explosive areas.

The management team at Emery Winslow has been working diligently to carry out a strategy of continuing to sell its products to its most important markets here in the United States, while developing new sales to the international market.

"We have a keen interest in the international marketplace," said Young. "We have relationships with a Canadian firm, a Taiwanese firm, and we are looking into Mainland China, Japan, Mexico and a number of other countries."

What about the European Market? Young believes it is going to have a great impact, possibly for the good, on the companies wanting to sell in the EC because a very substantial part of the U.S. scale companies are European owned. "I would also think that the interplay that I see going on between the OIML people and our own NIST is setting UP an easier opportunity for the EC companies to enter the U.S. market."

The forces that will shape the scale industry in the next century are gathering speed now. Myriad manufacturing and marketing changes will dramatically affect how we do business in the year 2000 - and Emery Winslow Scale Company is ready!