What Novametrix does

Nova Metrix is one of three active instrumentation platforms under Nova Ventures Group Corp., a privately held holding company founded in 2003 and headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Nova Metrix designs, manufactures, and distributes precision geotechnical, environmental, and materials testing instruments, sensors, software, and consumables serving structural health, construction, civil engineering, energy, and medical markets. The platform aggregates a portfolio of nine wholly owned acquired brands (Durham Geo Enterprises, Roctest, Sherborne Sensors, Soil Instruments, Van Essen Instruments, Westbay Instruments, Waterloo Hydrogeologic, Sensornet, and FISO Technologies) that together hold market-leading positions in geotechnical and structural asset monitoring instrumentation, with installed bases at marquee infrastructure projects including Hoover Dam, Grand Coulee Dam, Crossrail, Network Rail, Perth Metro, Son La Dam, and Marina Barrage.

The platform's proprietary technology spans vibrating wire sensors, fiber optic micro-pressure and temperature sensors (FISO/Roctest), ultrasonic transit-time flow measurement (Accusonic, prior platform), and groundwater monitoring software including Visual MODFLOW Flex, Hydro GeoAnalyst, AquaChem, and AquiferTest (Waterloo Hydrogeologic). Nova Metrix generates revenue primarily through hardware sales of instruments, sensors, and consumables via a hybrid go-to-market combining 300+ distribution partners across 150+ countries, direct enterprise sales for complex mission-critical applications, and engineering consulting firm channels. The platform is backed by Battery Ventures, Commonwealth Capital Ventures, and Ascent Venture Partners, whose combined capital management exceeds $2 billion, supporting an active M&A-driven growth model. Sister platforms Nova Instruments (NDT, fluid mechanics, particle characterization) and Nova Measurements (materials testing equipment) operate as separate operating businesses under the Nova Ventures parent but share common investor backing and a similar platform-build acquisition strategy.

Name

Novametrix

Legal name

Nova Ventures Group Corp.

Website

https://nova-metrix.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nova Metrix is a Nova Ventures Group platform that designs and manufactures precision geotechnical, environmental, and structural health monitoring instruments and sensors through nine acquired brands serving construction, civil engineering, energy, and medical markets globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geotechnical and Structural Monitoring Instrumentation

NAICS

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), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Aircraft Parts & Auxiliary Equipment, Nec (3728), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Test & Measurement Equipment (Oscilloscopes, DAQ, signal analyzers, calibration benches) (IMAGAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Process Analytical Instrumentation (Gas analyzers, spectroscopy, pH/ORP, conductivity) (IMAGAFAE), Testing, Inspection, Certification & Commissioning (TICx) Technical Services (BPAHAIAL), Metrology, Calibration & Testing Equipment (Balances, pH/DO, Standards) (HLAGAIAL)

Keywords

• Geotechnical monitoring instruments
• Structural health monitoring
• Non-destructive testing equipment
• Fiber optic sensors
• Materials testing equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Woburn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices24 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Geotechnical Instruments, Sensors, Software, and Consumables: Nova Metrix develops, manufactures, and delivers products used to monitor critical parameters in geotechnical, structural health, construction, civil engineering, energy, and medical markets. Revenue includes instruments, sensors, software, and consumables. Brands include Durham Geo Enterprises, Roctest, Sherborne Sensors, Soil Instruments, Westbay Instruments, Waterloo Hydrogeologic.
2. Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Instrumentation: Nova Instruments provides non-destructive test and measurement instrumentation and solutions for analysis, calibration, control, measurement, and monitoring. Nova Instruments ranks among the largest independent NDT test and measurement instrument platforms globally. Brands include Dantec Dynamics, Brookhaven Instruments, NDT Systems, Phoenix ISL, Technology Design, Stresstech, Degree Controls.
3. Materials Testing Equipment: Nova Measurements provides materials testing equipment serving the construction, geotechnical and civil engineering industries. Brands include Controls (with IPC Global and Wykeham Farrance) and VJ Tech. Product range includes equipment for testing aggregates, asphalt mixtures, concrete, cement, soils, rocks and structural steel.
4. Flow Monitoring Equipment, Software, and Professional Services: ADS Environmental Services (part of Nova Technologies platform) designs, engineers, markets, and services flow monitoring equipment, software, and integrated flow monitoring systems. Provides professional integration, field inspection and field services.
5. Sensors, Instruments, and Systems for Marine and Environmental Monitoring: Aanderaa Data Instruments (AADI) manufactures and sells sensors, instruments and systems for measuring and monitoring demanding applications within Marine Transportation, Oil & Gas, Aquaculture, Environmental Research and Road & Traffic Construction markets.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Nova Metrix designs, manufactures, and delivers precision geotechnical, environmental, and materials testing instruments, sensors, software, and consumables for structural health, construction, civil engineering, energy, and medical markets. Through sister platforms Nova Instruments and Nova Measurements, the company also provides non-destructive testing instrumentation, particle characterization, airflow sensing, and construction materials testing equipment.

Product overview

Novametrix (Nova Ventures Group) operates as an investment holding company with three active instrumentation platforms: Nova Metrix, Nova Instruments, and Nova Measurements. Nova Metrix provides geotechnical, environmental, and materials testing instruments, sensors (including vibrating wire and fiber optic), and software (Waterloo Hydrogeologic's Visual MODFLOW Flex, Hydro GeoAnalyst). Nova Instruments delivers non-destructive testing and measurement solutions including ultrasonic equipment (NDT Systems, PhoenixISL, Technology Design), particle characterization (Brookhaven Instruments), fluid mechanics measurement (Dantec Dynamics), airflow sensing (Degree Controls), and residual stress testing (Stresstech). Nova Measurements offers materials testing equipment for construction and civil engineering through Controls and VJ Tech brands. The company has previously operated Nova Analytics (electrochemistry/water quality instruments, sold to Xylem) and Nova Technologies (flow monitoring, sold to IDEX). The portfolio serves critical infrastructure markets including construction, energy, aerospace, medical, water, and environmental sectors across 150+ countries through 300+ distribution partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Westbay Instruments: World leader in providing reliable, versatile, subsurface characterization technology with multilevel groundwater instrumentation systems for three-dimensional and long-term groundwater monitoring.
• Waterloo Hydrogeologic
• Soil Instruments
• Sherborne Sensors
• Roctest
• Durham Geo Enterprises Inc. (DGSI)
• FISO Technologies

Products and services

• Durham Geo Enterprises (DGSI) Geotechnical Instruments Premium geotechnical instruments and sensors for monitoring tilt, displacement, pressure, and strain, plus material testing products and environmental remediation pumps, serving civil engineering, construction, transportation, and energy markets across North America and 50+ countries.
• Roctest Vibrating Wire and Fiber Optic Sensors High-precision measurement instruments using vibrating wire and fiber optic sensors for geotechnical, structural, medical, process control, and energy applications including bridges, tunnels, dams, pipelines, and high-rise buildings.
• Sherborne Sensors Precision Inclinometers, Accelerometers, and Load Cells Precision accelerometers, inclinometers, and force transducers for aerospace, defense, automotive, medical, civil engineering, geotechnical, and rail/transportation markets.
• Soil Instruments Geotechnical and Structural Monitoring Premium geotechnical and structural monitoring instrumentation for civil engineering, construction, railway, and mining markets, serving major infrastructure projects including Crossrail C701, Perth Metro, Son La Dam, Marina Barrage, and Network Rail.
• Westbay Instruments Multilevel Groundwater Systems Multilevel groundwater instrumentation systems for three-dimensional and long-term groundwater monitoring, fluid pressure/temperature collection, and fluid sampling from multiple zones within boreholes.
• Waterloo Hydrogeologic Groundwater Modeling Software Innovative software suite (Visual MODFLOW Flex, Hydro GeoAnalyst, AquaChem, AquiferTest) for groundwater modeling, environmental data management, water quality analysis and visualization, pumping test data analysis, groundwater remediation, and unsaturated flow simulation.
• Brookhaven Instruments Particle Characterization Particle characterization instruments specializing in protein size, charge, molecular weight, nanoparticle size, and zeta potential using Laser Light Scattering technology for research, development, and process control applications.
• Dantec Dynamics Laser-Optic Fluid Mechanics Diagnostics Laser-optic measurement equipment for fluid mechanics diagnostics including velocity, turbulence, temperature, gas concentration, particle/droplet size measurement, and solid surface deformation analysis.
• NDT Systems Portable Ultrasonic Testing Equipment Portable ultrasonic test equipment including thickness gauges, bond testers, flaw detectors, precision transducers, and scanning systems for aerospace, defense, oil and gas, power generation, and transportation markets.
• Phoenix Inspection Systems (PhoenixISL) Ultrasonic NDT Ultrasonic non-destructive testing equipment including transducers, manual and automated scanners, and customized scanning systems for nuclear, power generation, oil and gas, aerospace, and transportation sectors.
• Technology Design Ultrasonic Data Acquisition Ultrasonic data acquisition systems using Phased Array, Time-of-Flight Diffraction (ToFD), and Pulse-Echo technologies for corrosion mapping, weld inspection, and flaw detection in oil and gas, nuclear, and aerospace industries.
• Stresstech Residual Stress Measurement Non-destructive testing solutions for residual stress measurement using Barkhausen Noise, X-Ray Diffraction, and Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI) for automotive, aerospace, power generation, and manufacturing industries.
• Degree Controls Airflow Sensing and Thermal Management Airflow engineering, sensing, measurement, and controlling systems for laboratory, food and beverage, automotive, data center, and HVAC markets including miniaturized sensors to multi-channel measurement systems.
• Controls Construction Materials Testing Equipment Laboratory and on-site precision testing equipment for construction materials including aggregates, asphalt, concrete, cement, soils, rocks, and structural steel serving government, educational institutions, contractors, and quality control facilities.
• VJ Tech Geotechnical and Construction Testing Equipment Testing equipment for geotechnical and construction industries with emphasis on automation and latest technologies for laboratory testing and geotechnical investigation, serving universities to multinational construction companies in 90+ countries.
• Accusonic Ultrasonic Flow Measurement Systems High-accuracy ultrasonic transit-time flow measurement systems for large pipe and open channel applications in hydroelectric plants, water treatment facilities, and water distribution systems, with over 2,500 installed systems including Hoover Dam and Grand Coulee Dam.
• ADS Environmental Services Flow Monitoring Systems Flow monitoring equipment, software, and integrated systems for detecting inefficiencies in wastewater collection and drinking water distribution systems, with remotely-managed sensing devices and multi-user monitoring software, sold to municipal agencies.
• Sensornet Distributed Temperature and Strain Sensing Real-time distributed temperature and strain measuring systems for advanced asset monitoring applications.
• FISO Fiber Optic Pressure Transducers Fiber optic pressure transducers for preclinical, clinical, and industrial markets, including point sensors and sensing systems for challenging environments.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2,500 Accusonic flow measurement systems installed at major hydroelectric and water infrastructure projects globally, including Hoover Dam and Grand Coulee Dam
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Olympus Corporation (Evident): Industrial and scientific solutions business (formerly Olympus Scientific Solutions) with ultrasonic NDT, phased array, eddy current, and XRF analyzers. Directly comparable to Nova Instruments' NDT Systems, Technology Design, and PhoenixISL across aerospace, oil & gas, power generation, and pipeline inspection.
• Mettler-Toledo International: Global manufacturer of precision instruments for laboratory and industrial applications, including analytical, material testing, and process analytics equipment. Directly comparable to Nova Metrix and Nova Measurements for laboratory balances, materials testing, and process measurement, with similar enterprise sales motion and customer base in pharma, food, and industrial QA/QC.
• Spectris plc: UK-listed test and measurement conglomerate owning brands such as Malvern Panalytical (particle sizing — directly comparable to Brookhaven Instruments), HBK (sound and vibration), and Omega. Operates a roll-up model of niche instrumentation brands, similar to Nova Ventures' three-platform strategy, with direct overlap in materials characterization, sensors, and industrial test.
• Eddyfi Technologies: Private Canadian NDT platform owned by Novacap specializing in advanced ultrasonic, eddy current, and remote visual inspection. Directly comparable to Nova Instruments' NDT portfolio (NDT Systems, Technology Design, PhoenixISL) and a credible direct competitor in corrosion mapping, weld inspection, and flaw detection for aerospace, energy, and pipeline end-markets. Recent hire Zeki Gokce (Global NDT Sales Manager at Nova Instruments) was previously at Eddyfi, evidencing direct talent overlap.
• Geokon Inc. Privately held US manufacturer of vibrating wire and fiber optic sensors, load cells, and geotechnical instrumentation. Most direct niche competitor to Roctest, Soil Instruments, DGSI, and Sensornet within the geotechnical and structural health monitoring category, with overlapping customer base in dams, tunnels, mines, and major civil infrastructure projects.

Broad incumbents

• IDEX Corporation: Diversified US industrial conglomerate that acquired Nova Technologies (a prior sister platform under Nova Ventures) in 2008. Owns fluidics, dispensing, and health/science platforms including CVI Laser Optics and Melles Griot — comparable to Nova Instruments' fluid mechanics (Dantec) and photonics-adjacent product lines, and a documented exit path for similar roll-up platforms.
• Xylem Inc. Global water technology company that acquired Nova Analytics (a prior sister platform under Nova Ventures) through its spinout from ITT. Comparable to Nova Metrix's water/environmental instrumentation brands (Westbay, Waterloo Hydrogeologic, Van Essen, ADS Environmental) and represents a demonstrated strategic acquirer for similar water-focused instrumentation portfolios.
• Ametek Inc. US-listed electronic instruments group with ~$7B revenue across process and analytical instruments, including brands in materials testing, NDT, and precision sensors. Comparable to Nova Instruments' test & measurement portfolio and a typical strategic acquirer for niche measurement brands in adjacent categories.
• Fortive Corporation: US-listed diversified industrial technology company owning Fluke, Tektronix, and other test & measurement brands. Comparable as a broad incumbent in industrial and electronic test & measurement, with overlapping channels, calibration services, and end-markets (power, manufacturing, electronics).
• Roper Technologies: US-listed diversified technology holding company that has historically rolled up niche measurement and software businesses. Comparable as a holding/roll-up acquirer of measurement brands (e.g., Veritone, Industrial Scientific, Gatan), with capital structure and acquisition cadence parallel to Nova Ventures' platform model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nova-metrix

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Novametrix