What Lawson Hemphill does

Lawson Hemphill manufactures precision laboratory testing equipment for the textile industry, with a product portfolio centered on dynamic yarn testing and quality control instruments. Founded in 1975 and now headquartered in Shanghai, China following a 2023 acquisition, the company offers approximately 19 specialized instruments including the CTT-E multifunction yarn tester (a modular platform capable of running more than 10 tests on natural and synthetic yarns), the TYT-E textured yarn tester (exclusive holder of ASTM D6774 compliance), the FAK-S fiber analysis knitter (recognized as the worldwide standard for lab knitting machines), the DFT-HT high-speed, high-temperature draw force tester, the FST force shrinkage tester, and the DMT dynamic modulus tester. The portfolio addresses measurement of friction, entanglement, crimp, shrinkage, draw force, sonic modulus, and appearance across cotton, wool, polyester, nylon, spandex, carbon fiber, glass fiber, and technical/medical textile yarns.

The company serves a horizontal mix of customers: textile manufacturers (primary), independent testing laboratories, research institutions, and dyeing plants. Revenue is generated through one-time capital equipment sales supplemented by spare parts, consumables, and recurring service revenue covering installation, training, calibration, and certified repairs. Distribution is via direct enterprise sales from the Shanghai headquarters and through a wholly-owned European subsidiary (Lawson Hemphill GmbH) based in Aachen, Germany, which maintains local inventory and field engineers for EU and UK customers. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and the company has stated relationships spanning "global giants" to specialty producers, with documented expansion into Indonesia in 2025 and a planned 2026 relocation to a larger Songjiang District factory.

Name

Lawson Hemphill

Legal name

Lawson-Hemphill, Inc.

Website

https://lawsonhemphill.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lawson Hemphill manufactures precision laboratory testing equipment for the textile industry, specializing in dynamic yarn testing and quality control instruments. The company serves textile manufacturers, testing laboratories, and research institutions globally, with direct sales from Shanghai and a European subsidiary in Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Textile Testing Equipment

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Textile Testing, Compliance & Quality Assurance (CRAAAMAL)

Keywords

• Textile testing equipment
• Yarn quality control
• Lab knitting machines
• Draw force testing
• Fiber analysis instruments

Headquarters

HQ city

Swansea

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Testing Equipment Sales: Sale of textile laboratory testing equipment including yarn testers, knitting machines, and quality control systems. Products include CTT-E, TYT-E, FAK-S, DFM, DFT-HT, HDK, and other specialized textile testing instruments.
2. Spare Parts and Consumables: Distribution of spare parts and consumables from central warehouses (Europe). The European subsidiary maintains local inventory for replacement parts.
3. Service and Support: On-site installation, training, warranty claims, certified repairs, and calibration services. Provided through local field engineers in Europe and global support teams.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Lawson Hemphill designs, manufactures, and sells laboratory testing instruments and turnkey quality control systems for the textile industry, focused on yarn and fiber testing. Its product range includes dynamic yarn testers, textured yarn testers, lab knitting machines, draw force testers, shrinkage testers, modulus testers, friction meters, and tension meters, sold globally to textile manufacturers, testing laboratories, research institutions, and dyeing plants. The company supplements equipment sales with spare parts, consumables, installation, training, calibration, certified repairs, and warranty support.

Product overview

Lawson Hemphill is a manufacturer of textile laboratory testing and quality control equipment, offering a comprehensive portfolio of precision instruments for yarn testing. The product line centers on dynamic yarn testers (CTT-E platform) that serve as modular multi-test systems, supplemented by specialized instruments for specific textile properties including shrinkage testing (FST), draw force measurement (DFT-HT), textured yarn analysis (TYT-E), friction measurement (DFM/YFM), yarn tension monitoring (YTM), and sonic modulus testing (DMT). Knitting capability is provided through lab-scale machines (FAK-S, HDK, HDK-DFT) for fabric sample preparation and POY qualification. Productivity add-ons include automatic package changers (SAK, SAF) and yarn feeders (EYF). The portfolio serves quality assurance labs, R&D departments, and production facilities across the global textile industry, supporting testing of natural fibers (cotton, wool), synthetic materials (polyester, nylon, polypropylene), technical yarns (spandex, carbon fiber, glass fiber), and specialty materials (PTFE, UHMWPE) for applications ranging from apparel to medical textiles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CTT-E Multifunction Yarn Tester (LH-450) All-in-one dynamic yarn tester with electronic servo drive that performs more than 10 tests (including coefficient of friction, entanglement count, and yarn appearance) on natural and synthetic yarns such as aramids, carbon, glass fiber, and spandex, for textile manufacturers and quality control labs.
• TYT-E Textured Yarn Tester (LH-131) Two-zone dynamic textured yarn tester that simultaneously measures crimp and shrinkage percentage, with exclusive ASTM D6774 compliance and Chinese Standard GB/T6508-2001 conformance, for textured yarn manufacturers and testing labs.
• FAK-S Fiber Analysis Knitter Sampler (LH-122) High-speed precision lab knitting machine with Stitch Control System, recognized as the worldwide standard for lab knitting machines, designed to check uniformity and consistency of yarn for textile manufacturers and laboratories.
• FST Force Shrinkage Tester (LH-610) Tester that simultaneously measures shrinkage percentage and shrinkage force on yarn at the same time using high-temperature heaters programmable up to 300°C (optional 450°C), for textile quality control applications.
• DFT-HT Draw Force Tester (LH-160) High-speed precision draw force tester operating at 1,000 meters/minute with 500°C hot air temperature on running yarn, compliant with ASTM D 5344, for partially oriented yarn (POY) testing.
• HDK Hot Draw Knitter (LH-123) High-speed precision knitting machine with built-in Stitch Control System for checking uniformity and consistency of POY production, featuring non-contact vapor heater and contact pin heater options.
• HDK-DFT Hot Draw Knitter with Draw Force Tester (LH-123A) Combined precision knitting machine with automatic stitch control and draw force measurement system that provides knit samples and draw force results on POY packages simultaneously.
• DMT Dynamic Modulus Tester (LH-551, LH-552) System that measures sonic velocity through materials, including modulus of elasticity, material anisotropy, molecular orientation in fibers and films, and orientation of fibers in a web, for advanced fiber research.
• DFM Digital Friction Meter (LH-604) Reliable and economical method for computing yarn coefficient of friction, with Windows software for direct PC/laptop connection and a complete statistical package including COF averages, standard deviation, and one-button transfer to Excel or CSV.
• YFM Yarn Friction Meter (LH-603) Small, handheld, portable instrument that measures coefficient of friction quickly and accurately, providing feedback on effects of wax, paraffin, and sizing material on yarn friction values for production environments.
• YTM Yarn Tension Meter (LH-605) Durable and affordable portable yarn tension measurement device available in 0-25g, 0-50g and 0-100g ranges, ideal for production environment use.
• FAK-SE Elastomeric Yarn Knitter (LH-125) Precision lab knitting machine with separate controls for elastomeric yarn and base yarn, enabling quality control and evaluation of elastomeric yarn properties including bare elastomeric knitting, lay-in for recovery evaluation, and plating.
• EIB-E Entanglement Tester Instrument for measuring entanglement properties of yarns, used by yarn producers and laboratories for quality control.
• EST Entanglement Strength Tester Tester for measuring entanglement strength of yarns, used by yarn producers and laboratories for quality control.
• CTT-ES Spandex Tester Dynamic yarn tester specifically designed for the elastomeric/spandex yarn market, with specialized tension heads for high stretch and recovery property measurement.
• SAK Automatic Package Changer (LH-132, LH-133) Sample automatic changer that allows operators to service multiple machines simultaneously, with a 48-position rotary magazine allowing preload of up to 36 ends and running continuously for 36 minutes at 1-minute per sample duration.
• Spare Parts and Consumables Distribution Distribution of spare parts and consumables from central European warehouses through Lawson Hemphill GmbH, providing local inventory and replacement parts for textile testing instruments sold to EU and UK customers.
• Installation, Training, and Calibration Services On-site installation, training, warranty claims, certified repairs, and calibration services for Lawson Hemphill instruments, delivered through local field engineers in Europe and global support teams.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1000+ packages per 8 hours testing capability with Package Changer
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Uster Technologies: Swiss-based global leader in yarn quality testing and laboratory instruments for the textile industry. Directly comparable to Lawson Hemphill's CTT-E and TYT-E product lines, serving the same textile mill and QC lab customers, but with a much broader portfolio and significantly larger scale.
• SDL Atlas: Manufacturer of textile testing instruments and consumables for fabric and yarn quality assurance. Directly overlaps with Lawson Hemphill's lab equipment portfolio and serves the same textile and apparel testing customers across fiber, yarn, and fabric testing.
• Lenzing Instruments: Provides testing and measuring instruments for the textile and man-made fiber industry, including yarn and filament testing. Overlaps directly with Lawson Hemphill's yarn and fiber QC product lines for textile mill and fiber producer customers.
• James H. Heal: UK-based manufacturer of textile testing and quality control instruments for fiber, yarn, and fabric. Directly comparable in customer base (textile mills, QC labs) and product scope, with stronger presence in abrasion and color testing.
• Testex: Textile testing equipment manufacturer and lab consumables supplier serving global textile mills, testing labs, and brands. Directly comparable to Lawson Hemphill in textile QC instruments with a stronger focus on fabric and colorfastness testing.
• Textechno Herbert Stein: German specialist in yarn testing equipment, including favimat and roving/crimp testers for technical fibers (carbon, glass, aramid). Closely comparable to Lawson Hemphill's high-precision yarn and technical-fiber testing niche, particularly the DFT-HT and DMT instruments.

Broad incumbents

• Instron (Illinois Tool Works): Global leader in materials testing instruments (tensile, fatigue, rheology) with textile-industry applications. Competes with Lawson Hemphill's draw-force and tensile yarn testers but serves a much broader industrial customer base with significantly greater scale.
• ZwickRoell: European manufacturer of materials and component testing systems used across multiple industries including textiles. Overlaps with Lawson Hemphill in tensile and yarn testing but is a broad incumbent rather than a textile specialist.
• Shimadzu: Global analytical and measuring instrument manufacturer with textile testing and material characterization offerings. Adjacent incumbent that competes for textile QC and R&D lab budgets through broader laboratory instrument portfolios.

Emerging players

• Premier Evolvics: Indian manufacturer of textile and yarn testing instruments offering lower-cost alternatives to Western and Japanese brands. Competes with Lawson Hemphill on price-sensitive tenders in Asia, particularly in yarn evenness and tensile testing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lawson Hemphill