Our Company History
Laboratory Testing Inc. (LTI) has been through many transitions in its own 25-year history, and also operated for eight years earlier as Carson NDT, a division of Carson Helicopter. During that time, the company evolved from a small six-person nondestructive testing laboratory to our current materials testing, nondestructive testing, calibration and specimen machining business with over one hundred fifteen employees.
The Early Years
Laboratory Testing Inc. began doing business in 1976 as the NDT division of Carson Helicopter. The founders, Robert (Bob) W. McVaugh, Sr. and his partner, Frank Carson, established Carson NDT to provide commercial magnetic particle, liquid penetrant, X-ray and ultrasonic inspection services.By 1984, Carson NDT had 20 employees and the owners needed more room for growth in services, equipment and employees. The company moved from a small building on the property of Carson Helicopter to a 30,000 sq. ft. facility not far away in Dublin, PA. Around the same time, Bob McVaugh bought his partner’s share of the business and changed the company’s name to Laboratory Testing Inc.
New Services
During the rest of the 1980’s, many additional testing services were added including hydrostatic pressure testing, chemical analysis, dimensional inspection, metallurgical inspection and mechanical testing. Our Calibration Department, LTI Metrology, was established in 1992 to perform mechanical, force and torque calibration.
LTI also received accreditation in materials and nondestructive testing from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) in 1989 and the Performance Review Institute’s National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (NADCAP) in 1992. Many customers were from the military, aerospace, automotive and commercial industries and required their vendors to hold these accreditations.
Second-generation Ownership
When the founder of Laboratory Testing Inc., Bob McVaugh, Sr., passed away in November of 1994, ownership was transferred to the next generation. His son, Mike, assumed the role of president. He had been with the company since its beginning in 1984 as nondestructive testing manager.
Additional Capabilities
Under the second-generation owners, LTI branched out into a number of complementary lines of business. We broadened the capabilities of our Metallography Department with failure analysis, lifetime prediction, materials engineering and materials selection services. A Machining Department was added to prepare test specimens and to perform low-stress grinding and EDM. Our Calibration Department became a distributor for Glastonbury Southern Gage (GSG), Vermont Gage, Mitutoyo, Boston Centerless, Swanson Tool Manufacturing, Starrett and other manufacturers, to provide customers with fixed limit gaging, precision measuring instruments and replacement parts at list prices.
Upgrading and Expanding
The next project included investing in new equipment and streamlining order processing. Computer hardware and software were installed throughout the company creating a fully networked computer system. This network allowed our order entry, testing, quality assurance and accounting departments to share information and avoid duplication of effort in processing customer orders.
Upon completion of this project, LTI was ready for expansion, new machinery and computerization of older equipment. We enlarged the size of our Metallography, Customer Service and Machining Departments, then relocated the Chemistry Lab to a larger and better-equipped work area at our Dublin facility. By the time this expansion was completed, we were leasing an additional 4,000 sq. ft. of space in an adjoining building.
Next, our Mechanical Testing Department’s tensile testing machines were computerized for improved accuracy and speed. An elevated temperature tensile testing carousel was installed to run a number of jobs simultaneously for greater efficiency and quicker turnaround. Also, a third ultrasonic tester was installed to keep up with the increased volume of tubing and pipe orders handled by the Nondestructive Testing Department. These improvements increased our efficiency and allowed us to continue meeting turnaround requirements as sales and the number of orders grew.
Relocating to Continue Growth
Mike’s sister, Joan, joined the company as finance manager in 1998 and soon became a co-owner. Also, by the late 1990’s, LTI was out of room for additional expansion, so the second-generation owners began to search for a larger facility.
In August 1999, LTI purchased a 45,000 sq. ft. building on Topaz Drive in Hatfield, PA to provide more space for overcrowded departments and to prepare for future expansion of services. After completing renovations that included the addition of a 9,000 sq. ft. second floor on one end of the shop, installation of a three-ton crane, a new drainage system and remodeling of the second floor office space, the 75 employees and equipment were all relocated to Hatfield by the end of June 2000.
Acquiring Additional Services
On April 1, 2000, LTI purchased Gage Lab Corp., a calibration company in Huntingdon Valley, PA. In August 2001, Gage Lab was merged into our Calibration Department, which expanded our scope of services to include force, torque, pressure, mass, dimensional, vacuum, electrical, temperature, flow and humidity calibrations, field and repair services and instrument replacement. Around the same time we began applying for A2LA accreditation for many calibration services, and received approval shortly thereafter.
Keeping Up with Customer Needs
Over the next six years, we focused our growth on improving capabilities to test larger materials and provide faster turnaround on large volume orders. Our purchases included a 400K tensile machine; four stress rupture machines; additional chemistry equipment; additional EDM, milling and machining equipment for the Machine Shop; another overhead crane; and a flat-bed truck, pick-up truck and 2 new vans for our pick-up and delivery service.
By the beginning of 2007, LTI had added a 2nd shift in many departments to keep up with a growing number of customers, increasing orders and many requests for rush service to meet customer turnaround requirements. Even with the second shift, we needed more space in most departments.
LTI’s next project was a 12,000 sq. ft. building addition to provide the capacity to process more orders on both shifts. We also constructed an additional parking lot with 65 more spaces for employees and visitors. The project was completed in April 2008, so we celebrated with an Open House last summer.
Current and prospective customers are invited to schedule a tour of our facility. For arrangements or additional information on our capabilities and the benefits of working with Laboratory Testing Inc., please e-mail sales@labtesting.com or call 800-219-9095.
Our Efficiency Saves You Time
Providing all services at our single location means we can maintain strict processes and procedures that ensure your project will be completed in the quickest and most cost-efficient manner possible.
When Turnaround is a Priority, LTI Gets You Results
When your project needs to be completed in days, not weeks, we offer the turnaround you need - standard & rush service.
The Best in the Business
The quality you receive depends on our highly-trained, skilled and motivated employees.