Measurement Specialists

What Measurement Specialists does

Measurement Specialists Inc. (dba National Scale Technology / MSNST) is a privately held, women-owned manufacturer founded in 1982 and headquartered in a single facility in Huntsville, Alabama. The company designs, engineers, machines, assembles, and calibrates industrial load cells, force transducers, load pins, tension links, and weigh modules used to convert mechanical force into electrical signals via strain gauge / Wheatstone bridge technology. Its portfolio spans six load cell families (canister, beam, low-profile/pancake, annular/donut, S-type, and load pins) with capacities from 25 LBF to 10,000,000 LBS, supported by weigh module assemblies, NIST-traceable calibration services (up to 500K lbf tension and 1.6M lbf compression), repair services, and a 6,000 sq ft custom CNC machining operation. A 10,000,000 lbf test stand is being commissioned to extend the calibration envelope further.

MSNST serves aerospace and defense prime contractors and government end users (NASA/MSFC, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, L3Harris) as well as steel mills, energy, heavy manufacturing, research labs, and industrial weighing customers. All sales are direct, quote-based, and project-driven, with in-house application engineers managing requirements discovery, solution design, and post-sale support. The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified (QAS International, valid through 2026-2027), FM Approved under multiple FM Class standards, DDTC registered with DFARS-compliant material sourcing, and markets itself as 100% American-made with no tariff exposure. Revenue, ownership structure, and headcount are not publicly disclosed beyond an 11-50 employee range.

Name

Measurement Specialists

Legal name

Measurement Specialists Inc.

Website

https://msnst.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Measurement Specialists Inc. (MSNST) is a privately held, 40-year-old American manufacturer of custom and standard load cells, load pins, tension links, and weigh modules, serving aerospace and defense primes (NASA, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, L3Harris) plus steel, energy, and heavy industrial customers with NIST-traceable calibration and in-house machining from a single Huntsville, Alabama facility.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Force Measurement Sensors

NAICS

Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519), Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals (334515)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Measuring & Controlling Devices, Nec (3829)

akta.pro primary industry

Weighing & Force Measurement (Load cells, scales, torque, strain measurement) (IMAGAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Calibration Services & Standards (Calibration labs, reference standards, traceability services) (IMAGAFAH), Metrology & Dimensional Measurement (CMMs, laser trackers, gauges, surface/roughness) (IMAGAFAD)

Keywords

• Load cell manufacturing
• Force measurement sensors
• Industrial weighing systems
• Strain gauge transducers
• Load pins tension links

Headquarters

HQ city

Huntsville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Load Cell Manufacturing & Sales: Designs, engineers, and manufactures custom and standard load cells including canister, beam, low-profile, annular, S-type, and specialty configurations. Revenue generated from product sales to industrial customers.
2. Weigh Modules & Assemblies: Complete mounting assemblies integrating load cells with hardware for tanks, silos, hoppers, and industrial vessels. Self-centering, self-checking assemblies.
3. Calibration Services: NIST-traceable calibration for force sensors including load cells, load pins, tension links, torque transducers, and crane scales. Calibration up to 500K lbf tension and 1.6M lbf compression.
4. Repair Services: Load cell repair services including electrical bench checks, component replacement, recalibration, and warranty. 1-year warranty on repairs. Can rebuild load cells to high-temperature specifications.
5. Custom Machining Services: CNC machining services including prototyping to full production. Services include CNC milling, turning, engineering design, sandblasting, welding, and fixture fabrication for precision parts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Measurement Specialists Inc. (dba National Scale Technology/MSNST) designs, engineers, and manufactures custom and standard load cells, load pins, tension links, and weigh modules for industrial force measurement applications with capacities from 25 LBF to 10,000,000 LBF. The company also provides NIST-traceable calibration services, load cell repair services, and custom CNC machining—all conducted in-house at its Huntsville, Alabama facility.

Product overview

Measurement Specialists Inc., dba National Scale Technology (MSNST), offers a unified portfolio of precision force measurement products and services centered around industrial load cells. The core product line spans six distinct load cell types—Canister (#11XXXXX & #12XXXXX), Beam (#13XXXXX & #14XXXXX), Low-Profile/Pancake (#15XXXXX & #16XXXXX), Annular/Donut (#17XXXXX), S-Type, and Load Pins (#18XXXXX)—each available in capacities ranging from 25 LBF to 10,000,000 LBF. These are complemented by two weigh module families: Low-Profile Assemblies (#35XXXXX & #36XXXXX) and Beam Assemblies (#33XXXXX & #34XXXXX), which integrate load cells with mounting hardware for tanks, silos, hoppers, and process vessels. Supporting services include Calibration Services (NIST-traceable up to 1,600,000 lbs compression), a Tension Calibration Kit for field verification, Repair Services (including upfitting and warranty programs), and Custom Machining Services for precision parts. The portfolio is unified by in-house manufacturing, strain gauge assembly, and calibration capabilities all conducted at the Huntsville, Alabama facility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Canister Load Cells
• Beam Load Cells
• Low-Profile/Pancake Load Cells
• Annular/Donut Load Cells
• S-Type Load Cells
• Load Pins
• Tension Links
• Low-Profile Weigh Modules
• Beam Assemblies
• Calibration Services
• Tension Calibration Kit
• Repair Services
• Custom Machining Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced downtime through reliable load cell performance
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

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 indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• FUTEK Advanced Sensor Technology: Specialist in load cells, force sensors, and torque sensors with strong custom and OEM focus; comparable niche, force-measurement-only product line and engineering-driven sales model.
• Flintec: Global load cell and weighing technology manufacturer with similar product breadth (compression, tension, beam-type cells) and focus on industrial weighing applications.
• Transducer Techniques: US manufacturer of load cells, force sensors, and torque sensors with similar custom engineering and OEM focus in industrial and aerospace markets.
• Interface Inc. US-based manufacturer of precision load cells, force sensors, and torque transducers with comparable custom-engineering focus serving aerospace, defense, and industrial test markets.
• Morehouse Instrument Company: Specialist in force calibration and load cell calibration services up to very high capacities; directly comparable NIST-traceable calibration capability and similar niche focus.
• Vishay Precision Group: Manufactures precision force sensors, load cells, and weighing modules; comparable product portfolio and serves overlapping industrial and aerospace test customers.
• Rice Lake Weighing Systems: US-based manufacturer of load cells, weighing modules, and indicators with comparable scale modules and calibration services; broad industrial weighing portfolio overlapping MSNST's weigh modules.

Broad incumbents

• HBM (HBK – Hottinger Brüel & Kjær): Global incumbent in test and measurement offering a broad load cell, force, and torque portfolio; competes with MSNST in high-precision strain-gauge force measurement but operates at significantly larger scale.
• Mettler-Toledo: Large global incumbent in industrial weighing and precision instruments; overlaps with MSNST in load cells and force measurement but as part of a much broader lab/industrial portfolio.
• Honeywell (Sensotec / Load Cell portfolio): Large diversified sensor and controls incumbent with a legacy Sensotec line of load cells and force sensors; competes in aerospace and industrial force measurement as part of a much wider portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/measurespec
• Facebookfacebook.com/measurespec
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/msnst

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Measurement Specialists