What Kett does

Kett is a US-based manufacturer of precision measurement instruments founded in 1946, operating across 14 product lines that span moisture meters, NIR composition analyzers, coating thickness gauges, friction and wear testers, and laboratory mixing systems. The company's core technology stack combines near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, electrical resistance, high-frequency capacitance, and electromagnetic induction methods to deliver non-destructive, instant measurements across laboratory, production, and field environments. Products range from portable handheld meters priced around $575 to advanced tribology systems priced at $124,000, with most industrial instruments falling in the $1,000-$10,000 range.

The business is primarily a hardware sales model with a complementary recurring services layer: factory-trained repair, certified calibration, and extended maintenance agreements of one to ten years. Kett distributes globally in more than 100 countries through direct e-commerce, phone/email sales with application engineer consultation, and same-day parts shipping, while partnering with Japan's Shinto Scientific (Heidon) for tribology and mixing system products in the US market. Customers span food and agriculture, pharmaceutical, chemical processing, pulp and paper, construction and building materials, coatings, general manufacturing, specialty materials, and automotive segments. The company has 11-50 employees and operates without disclosed funding, parent company, or acquisition activity.

Recent strategic activity has centered on extending the portfolio into inline process monitoring (the 2026 RX20/RX30 single-kernel analyzers and KB30 NIR sensor with PLC/SCADA integration) and reinforcing computer vision capabilities within the rice quality analyzer family. Despite 80 years of operating history, Kett remains privately held with no disclosed financial information, and its growth posture appears measured rather than venture-backed.

Name

Kett

Legal name

Kett US

Website

https://kett.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kett is a US manufacturer of precision measurement instruments — moisture meters, NIR composition analyzers, coating thickness gauges, friction and wear testers, and laboratory mixers — serving food, agriculture, pharmaceutical, construction, and manufacturing customers across 100+ countries since 1946.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Test and Measurement Instruments

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables (334513), Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals (334515)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Calibration Services & Standards (Calibration labs, reference standards, traceability services) (IMAGAFAH)

Keywords

• Moisture measurement instruments
• NIR composition analyzers
• Coating thickness gauges
• Friction and wear testers
• Laboratory mixing systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Villa Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Precision Measurement Instruments: Sale of handheld, portable, desktop, and inline measurement instruments for moisture, composition, coating thickness, friction, and wear testing. Products range from portable meters under $1,000 to advanced laboratory systems exceeding $100,000.
2. Parts, Accessories, and Consumables: Replacement parts, accessories, and consumables for current and legacy Kett instruments. Most parts ship same day via UPS, FedEx, or DHL.
3. Repair and Calibration Services: Factory-trained repair services with one-year guarantee on parts and labor. Calibration services verify instruments against factory specifications and issue certificates for quality audits.
4. Extended Maintenance Agreements: Extended Warranty Maintenance Agreements available in one, three, five, and ten-year terms, including immediate instrument swap options for minimal downtime.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Kett designs, manufactures, and sells precision measurement instruments used for moisture, composition, coating thickness, friction, wear, and whiteness testing, as well as laboratory mixing systems. Its portfolio spans handheld, portable, desktop, and inline instruments using NIR spectroscopy, electrical resistance, high-frequency capacitance, and electromagnetic induction technologies, sold under the Kett brand alongside partner brands Heidon and Shinto Scientific. Revenue is anchored in instrument sales, replacement parts, factory repair and calibration services, and extended maintenance agreements.

Product overview

Kett offers precision measurement instruments organized into 14 product lines spanning moisture meters (NIR, capacitance, and resistance-based for concrete, agriculture, and industrial materials), NIR composition analyzers, coating thickness gauges, friction and wear testers (Heidon Tribogear), and laboratory mixing systems (Heidon Three-One Motor). The portfolio includes both Kett-branded instruments and products from Japanese partners Heidon (tribology) and Shinto Scientific. Key product families include the HI series concrete moisture meters (HI520, HI800, HI330), HB universal moisture meters, KB/KJT NIR moisture systems, AN rice composition analyzers, RN rice quality graders, and H/Friction and HHS tribology instruments. Products serve industries including construction, food processing, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, coatings, and manufacturing, with global distribution across 100+ countries since 1946.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Moisture Meters Kett-branded product line of NIR, capacitance, and resistance-based moisture measurement instruments used by manufacturers and QC professionals for concrete, mortar, grain, wood, paper, and universal industrial applications.
• NIR Composition Analyzers Near-infrared instruments that measure organic composition such as protein, fat, oil, and moisture in food, agricultural, chemical, and industrial materials.
• Coating Thickness Gauges Portable and handheld gauges that measure coating thickness on ferrous and non-ferrous metal substrates using electromagnetic and eddy current methods.
• Friction and Wear Testers Heidon Tribogear tribology instruments that measure static and dynamic friction, wear resistance, scratch hardness, adhesion strength, and peel resistance for surface property evaluation.
• Laboratory Mixing Systems Heidon Three-One Motor overhead mixing systems with brushless DC motors used in laboratory formulation, process development, and quality control mixing applications.
• HB300 Portable Universal Moisture Meter Programmable portable moisture meter that stores up to 10 custom calibrations for solids, powders, pastes, and sheets using electrical resistance measurement, with 250-reading onboard data storage.
• HI520 Concrete & Mortar Moisture Meter Flagship surface-contact moisture meter for cured concrete, mortar, drywall, and dense materials using high-frequency capacitance with six factory calibrations and dual-depth measurement capability.
• HI800 Internal Moisture Meter Deep-penetration moisture meter that uses electrical resistance through drilled holes to measure moisture inside walls and slabs at any drillable depth, with upper/lower alarm limits.
• HI330 Aggregate Moisture Meter Instant moisture meter for sand and aggregate in ready-mix plants providing ±0.3% accuracy, three-second response, and 126-reading onboard memory with RS232C output.
• KB30 Online NIR Moisture Meter Inline NIR moisture sensor weighing 7 kg with 50 on-board calibrations stored in the sensor head, providing non-contact moisture monitoring with 4-20 mA and RS485/RS232 outputs for direct PLC/SCADA/DCS integration.
• H14FW Multi-Purpose Surface Analyzer Heidon Tribogear multi-purpose tribology instrument handling friction measurement, wear testing, scratch hardness, surface stickiness, and peel resistance with touchpanel interface and JIS/ASTM compliance.
• H18L Scratch Resistance Tester Continuous-load scratch tester that automatically identifies coating failure point by detecting change in frictional resistance under progressively increasing load.
• HHS3000 3D Surface Analyzer 3D surface analyzer that plots frictional force, number of wear cycles, and vertical load from a single test to create a three-dimensional wear mode map, with STEP mode chaining up to 30 measurement sequences.
• BLH600 High-Power Overhead Mixer Heidon Three-One Motor 80W brushless overhead mixer with automatic speed feedback that holds RPM through viscosity changes, with a speed range of 10-600 RPM.
• BL600Z+ Reciprocating Overhead Mixer Heidon Three-One Motor overhead mixer that adds a vertical reciprocating stroke to rotation to eliminate unmixed ring layers in multi-viscosity materials, with a speed range of 10-600 RPM.
• BLW300 Mini-Plant Class Mixer Heidon 120W high-torque mini-plant class overhead mixer delivering 4.5 N·m rated torque for heavy viscous materials, with a speed range of 10-300 RPM.
• AN820 Near Infrared Grain Tester Desktop NIR composition analyzer that measures protein, moisture, and amylose in whole rice in about 40 seconds using non-destructive whole-grain NIR transmittance with eight factory calibrations.
• RN700E Rice Quality Analyzer Standalone rice quality analyzer that captures three images of every kernel and classifies it against configurable grading standards using computer vision, processing approximately 1000 grains in 40 seconds without a PC.
• RN600 Automated Rice Grain Sorter Automated rice sorter that uses computer vision to image each kernel and physically separate brown and milled rice into five quality classes, processing up to 2000 grains per batch at 12 kernels per second.
• RN820 Rice Freshness Meter Rice freshness meter that measures the freshness of milled rice kernel by kernel using pH, providing an objective five-rank classification with graphical per-kernel histogram and distribution chart.
• KJT130 Handheld NIR Moisture Meter Handheld NIR moisture meter that provides instant, non-contact moisture measurement on both liquids and solids using near-infrared technology.
• RX20 and RX30 Inline Moisture Analyzers Inline moisture analyzers that provide instant, single-kernel moisture measurement placed where product is in freefall or gravity-fed, with single particle measurement, instant feedback, fully automated operation, and worldwide monitoring for dryer, storage, and bucket elevator applications.
• Parts, Supplies, and Service Genuine Kett replacement parts and accessories with same-day shipping, factory-trained repair services with a one-year parts and labor guarantee, and professional calibration services that verify instruments against factory specifications and issue certificates for quality audits.
• Total Care Warranty Comprehensive warranty program covering parts, labor, and specification compliance for Kett instruments, with extended maintenance agreement options available from one to ten years including instrument swap programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• HI330 provides ±0.3% accuracy on aggregate readings for precise water-cement ratio control
• +3 more outcomes

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability8 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Shinto Scientific (Heidon)coreTechnology or IntegrationKett serves as the direct sales, application engineering, and technical support partner for the Heidon Three-One Motor line of laboratory mixing systems in the US market. The Three-One Motor mixing systems include over 30 models plus specialized configurations. Built by Shinto Scientific and refined continuously since 1966.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mettler Toledo: Global leader in precision laboratory instruments including moisture analyzers, balances, and NIR composition systems. Directly comparable to Kett's moisture and composition instrument portfolio across food, pharma, and industrial QC markets.
• Sartorius AG: Manufactures moisture analyzers, lab balances, and process sensors used in pharma, food, and biotech QC. Overlaps with Kett's universal moisture meters and pharmaceutical customer segment.
• Elcometer: Specialist in coating thickness gauges, surface profile, and adhesion testing for industrial QA — directly comparable to Kett's L600 coating thickness gauge product line and overlap with the construction/coatings customer base.
• BYK-Gardner (BYK): Manufactures surface property and coating test instruments (gloss, color, film thickness, hardness). Competitor to Kett's H14FW surface analyzer and friction/wear product line serving the coatings industry.
• Taber Industries: Established manufacturer of abrasion, wear, and scratch resistance testers for coatings, paper, and plastics. Directly competes with Kett's Heidon Tribogear wear/scratch product family (H18L, HHS3000).
• Humboldt Mfg. Co. Manufacturer of construction materials testing equipment including concrete, aggregate, and cement QC instruments. Directly comparable to Kett's HI520/HI800/HI330 concrete and aggregate moisture meter product lines.
• Testing Machines Inc (TMI): Supplier of physical property testing equipment for paper, packaging, coatings, and textiles. Overlaps with Kett's friction/wear, paper moisture, and pulp-and-paper customer segments via instruments for COF, peel, and tensile testing.

Broad incumbents

• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Diversified analytical instruments giant spanning NIR, spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and process measurement. Overlaps with Kett in NIR composition analysis and serves the same food/ag/pharma customer base, but with vastly broader scope and scale.
• Ametek: Holding company of process and analytical instruments including moisture, coating thickness, and tribology test brands. Broad incumbent in Kett's measurement categories via its CAMECA, SPECTRO, and process instrumentation subsidiaries.
• Shimadzu Corporation: Japanese analytical and measuring instrument manufacturer with NIR, spectroscopy, and material testing lines. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing in Kett's NIR composition analysis and pharmaceutical/chemical verticals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kettinstruments
• YouTubeyoutube.com/1kettus
• Facebookfacebook.com/KettTestInstruments
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kett
• Instagraminstagram.com/kettsupport

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 Kett