During April 2018 WD Hearn signed with LK Metrology and became their South African agent. 

LK Tool Company Limited was founded in Derby, England in 1963 by Norman Key (a former Rolls Royce engineer) and Bill Lowther (Norman’s father-in-law). The company started as a supplier of granite inspection tooling to the engineering industry and then became the innovator of the “Bridge Type” multi-axis Coordinate Measuring Machine. LK started operations in the USA in 1983 capturing a large part of the automotive market for high volume production inspection systems. Since then, LK has been designing, manufacturing, and deploying CMMs throughout the world.

Throughout its history, LK has been recognized as a market leader and is credited with a long list of “firsts and successes” such as:

- First to design a Bridge Type CMM
- First OEM to integrate a computer with a CMM
- First to develop inspection software specifically for CMM use
- First to use all air bearing and granite guideways for stability and stiffness
- First to use carbon fiber composite spindles
- First to use microprocessor controlled drive systems
- First to produce a High Accuracy, Horizontal Spindle CMM
- First to produce a truly thermally stable CMM
- Worked in partnership with Rolls-Royce Ltd to develop Renishaw’s First Touch Trigger Probe for use on a CMM.

LK is the world’s oldest manufacturer of CMM. This year, as LK celebrates its 55th anniversary as a leader in the CMM Industry, the company has returned to be an independent UK CMM manufacturer headquartered in Derby,  with Sales and Support offices in the UK, North America, Belgium, France and Germany. The  LK CMM brand returns after several years as a division of Nikon Metrology which intends to focus now on non-contact metrology.

To coincide with the relaunch, LK Metrology and Nikon Metrology have announced a strategic partnership that will see Nikon Metrology continue in the market as the Preferred CMM Sales Partner for LK CMMs.  All CMM production, development, sales and service activities, including the CAMIO software, has been transferred to ASF Metrology (Torino, Italy), under the ownership and management of Angelo Muscarella, who has a long and proven track record in metrology and especially in the CMM business.

Nikon Metrology will continue to serve a number of selected accounts as part of a strategic marketing partnership where both companies will promote each other’s products and services. All employees mainly dedicated to the CMM business, a crucial asset to the knowhow of the company, are now part of the new LK Metrology. Both companies will work closely together to ensure a smooth transition with suppliers, customers and resellers.

WD Hearn looks forward to a long and prosperous relationship with LK Metrology.