Empowering Results since 1936

Since 1936, millions of samples worldwide have been analyzed using LECO instruments for elemental analysis, thermal analysis, metallography, and mass spectrometry. Our comprehensive solutions for improving productivity include working with you to find the right equipment for the type of analysis you are doing — and providing you with the training, application support, and service you need to keep your lab running at its best.

We take away the stress and frustration your laboratory experiences when faced with the increasing demands of doing more with less.

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About our Company

Established in 1936 by Carl Schultz, the Laboratory Equipment Company introduced what would be the first rapid carbon determinator to the American iron and steel industry. LECO continues to be a family-owned company in its third generation of leadership and is recognized globally as a leader in the development of high-quality elemental and thermal analysis equipment, mass spectrometers and chromatographs, metallography and optical equipment, and consumables.

LECO established its first international office in Germany in 1967, and since that time has grown to include over 25 worldwide subsidiaries and distributors who are authorized to sell our equipment to over 75 countries around the Globe. Our on-site Compliance Testing Center (CTC) helps strengthen a commitment to worldwide excellence by ensuring all global compliance standards are met.

Our headquarters in St. Joseph, Michigan, USA, is comprised of several facilities each dedicated to improving customer success, including state-of-the-art research and development centers and rugged manufacturing facilities. From stamped metal parts to complex electronic assemblies, most components for our instruments are innovated and produced in-house. Through this vertical integration system, we are able to maintain strict control over the manufacturing and assembly process in accordance with our quality standards.

In 2006, we opened the doors to our Global Support Center—a facility dedicated to providing customers with service, training, and additional support after the sale of their instrument. A global network of service professionals help ensure customers around the world receive the service they need.

Metallographic and analytical laboratories at our new Customer Experience Center and our mass spectrometry lab at the ESW Technical Centre provide application assistance, instrument demonstrations, and technical presentations for new and current customers, while our optical service laboratory offers accredited calibrations for our hardness testing and microscopy equipment.

 

Our History

  • 1936
    • Carl Schultz founds the Laboratory Equipment Company and introduces the first rapid carbon determinator for the steel industry.
  • 1945
    • When World War II prevents the importation of ceramic combustion ware, LECO begins developing its own line of combustion vessels.
  • 1950
    • The high-frequency induction furnace is developed, significantly reducing analysis times
  • 1967
    • LECO’s first international presence is established with the formation of the Export Division in Germany.
  • 1970
    • Solid state infrared cells, resistance and induction furnaces, and advanced instrumentation using digital electronics are developed.
  • 1973
    • LECO introduces the industry’s first line of complete solutions for metallographic analysis.
  • 1976
  • 1979
    • The SC-32, the industry’s first automated sulfur analyzer, replaces the tedious ESCHA wet chemistry method
  • 1980
    • Internal microprocessors, self-calibration, self-diagnostics, and autosamplers are integrated into instrument designs to improve speed and general operation, providing results in less than 30 seconds.
  • 1983
    • The TGA moisture/ash series is introduced. The Carl E. Schultz Technical Center opens as a state-of-the-art research and development center.
  • 1990
    • LECO’s first GDS and ICP spectrometers are released into the market.
  • 1993
    • After an audit by the British Standard Institute, LECO becomes certified and registered to the international quality standard ISO-9002. Certification is later upgraded to ISO-9001.
  • 1997
    • The Pegasus® GC-TOFMS, one of the first time-of-flight mass spectrometers in the marketplace, is released by LECO. Future generations of the instrument would include expanded library databases, Automated Peak Find, and True Signal Deconvolution® algorithms.
  • 2000
    • LECO introduces its next generation of instruments for carbon/sulfur and nitrogen/carbon analysis. The TC-600 and CS-600 series are the first instruments of their kind with built-in Windows®-based software.
    • SmartLine® Remote Diagnostics are developed for LECO instruments, providing service capabilities via the internet and reducing costly service visits.
  • 2002
    • Through a collaboration of sound engineering and customer input, the TruSpec® elemental analyzer is introduced, changing the way the world performs protein analyses.
  • 2006
    • LECO opens its Global Support Center, a 50,000 square foot service and training facility.
  • 2007
    • The state-of-the-art Life Science & Chemical Analysis Centre opens, providing applications support and instrument training for all of LECO’s Separation Science instruments.
  • 2009
    • The TruMac® is introduced as the first instrument capable of performing macro sample analysis (1 to 3 g) since the mid-1980s.
  • 2011
    • The Cornerstone® platform is launched, providing faster, more intuitive operation, including touch-screen capabilities, of new LECO analytical products.
    • LECO unveils new High Resolution TOFMS (HRT) technology, offering superior resolution, mass accuracy, acquisition speed, and sensitivity in one instrument and at the same time.
  • 2012
    • LECO opens the Elizabeth S. Warren Technical Centre for Separation Science, a 28,000 square-foot facility dedicated to the research and development of innovative instrumentation and equipment for the separation science product line.
  • 2014
    • Cornerstone Mobile, an optional mobile remote viewing feature, is introduced for select instruments, allowing users to view data, plots, and instrument status from a Smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer.
  • 2016
    • LECO celebrates 80 years of innovation by introducing the Pegasus BT, a new benchtop GC-TOFMS.
  • 2018
    • LECO opens its 36,000 sq. foot Customer Experience Center, a space dedicated to enhancing the end-user’s interaction with the company, its products, and its services.
    • LECO updates its company logo and introduces a new corporate focus—Empowering Results—highlighting not only its quality instrumentation, but the top-notch service and support the company has been known for.