Elcometer USA

Elcometer USA is the United States operation of Elcometer, a manufacturer and supplier of inspection equipment for the coatings industry. The first Elcometer gauge was manufactured in 1947, and the company states it has supplied the coatings industry for more than sixty years and now has representation in over 70 countries. Alongside instruments, the US entity, Elcometer Inc, lists calibration, repair, inspection and training services in its stated quality policy.

Coating inspection

The core range measures coatings and the surfaces beneath them:

• Dry film thickness gauges and probes, both digital and mechanical, with calibration foils and standards
• Wet film thickness
• Surface profile and surface contamination
• Climatic testing, including digital dew point meters, hygrometers and thermometers
• Adhesion testers in pull-off, push-off and cross hatch types, with dollies, dolly skirts and adhesive tapes
• Pinhole and porosity detection
• Material thickness

Inspection kits

Instruments are also sold as pre-assembled kits built around a job type rather than a single measurement:

• Protective Coating Kits 1 through 6 in imperial and metric versions, plus a Hazardous Area Kit
• Digital kits in basic and top ferrous, and ferrous/non-ferrous configurations
• Salt contamination kits, including the Bresle Salt Contamination Kit
• Blasting Kits 1 and 2, a Paint Booth Kit in standard and waterborne versions, and a Spot Repair Kit
• Powder coating kits to ASTM, and standard and top Qualicoat kits
• The Elcometer 456 Duct Deposit Measuring System

Laboratory, concrete and ultrasonic instruments

Laboratory instruments cover dispersion, viscosity, density, film application, test charts, drying time, abrasion and washability, hardness and scratch, elasticity and gloss. Named examples include the Elcometer 1537 ISO Scratching Tool, which has a tungsten carbide blade set to give a 90 degree cutting angle and a 75 degree blade edge. The Elcometer 1538 DIN Scratching Tool takes interchangeable carbide cutters in 0.5mm and 1mm sizes and is also offered in a Renault version with a blade adjustment device.

Concrete inspection covers covermeters, rebar locators, concrete hardness, adhesion testing, moisture and climate, and crack width. Ultrasonic NDT covers precision gauges and flaw detectors. The Elcometer 138 Abrasive Soluble Salt Test Kit tests to ASTM D4940 and is supplied with a conductivity meter, calibration and conditioning solutions, beakers, filter papers and a transit case.

Spray equipment

Industrial air spray equipment includes automotive spray guns, pressure pots, pneumatic pumps, and transfer pumps with drum covers. Named units include the Hudson 60 stainless steel piston transfer pump, whose long version measures 1256mm, and the Elcometer 200 drum cover, which can be supplied with a rotary agitator and a Kara 40 double diaphragm transfer pump.

Manufacturing and support

The company builds and assembles the majority of its key products in its own manufacturing facilities, with production in the UK and the USA and research and development departments in the UK and Belgium. Local offices operate in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Singapore and the USA, alongside a distributor network. Post-sale support covers repair and re-calibration, software and published technical knowledge.