Company History

When Viscosity Is Measured

For over 75 years Brookfield Engineering Laboratories has been the world's leading manufacturer of Viscometers and Rheometers for laboratory and on-line process control applications. The reputation of the Brookfield viscometer is built on more than just a superior scientific principle. When you use a Brookfield, you are joining thousands of people who have made it a World Standard of viscosity measurement. There are more Brookfield viscometers used in industries worldwide than any other viscometer. Your associates, suppliers or customers probably own a Brookfield. Many Society and Industrial specifications describe the use of a Brookfield viscometer. Laboratory Viscometers and Rheometers include Dial Reading (Analog) and Digital Display Model of which several are Programmable. On-line Process Control Viscometers include Probe, In-Tank, In-Line and flow through models.

All Brookfield viscometers employ the well-known principle of rotational viscometry; they measure viscosity by sensing the torque required to rotate a spindle at constant speed while immersed in a fluid. The torque is proportional to the viscous drag on the immersed spindle, and thus to the viscosity of the fluid.

A Historical Perspective

In the summer of 1932, at age 21 and while completing his studies at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Don Brookfield, Sr. told his father "I can build a better one". He was referring to the viscometer he and his father, Gordon W. Brookfield, Sr. considered buying when looking for one to use in the manufacture of synthetic resins to measure the fluid's physical characteristics. Don sold his first working dial reading viscometer in 1934, and later with his father and brothers, incorporated the business and launched the Dial Reading Synchro-electric Viscometer, the product that would become the standard throughout the world.

After graduating, from MIT with a degree in Electro-Chemical Engineering, and while working at Gillette in Boston, Mass., Don continued the development of his instrument. He married Phyllis Brown in 1937, and, while she worked at John Hancock Life Insurance to keep food on the table, he worked to perfect the model that eventually became the industry standard. Don left Gillette in 1939 to pursue his enterprise fulltime. In those start-up years, Don sold his viscometers with free upgrades or exchange for the latest improved models, which was the practice that gave the company an excellent reputation and name.

During World War II, Brookfield Engineering Laboratories, Inc. was able to continue its viscometer development by making significant contributions in other areas, to such projects as the cathode at the heart of airborne radar, the co-axial connectors for radio research at Harvard and MIT, and defense components. This required intervention by the Atomic Energy Commission, top defense contractors, and various arsenals, to obtain the highest priority rating for materials.

After the war, production expanded in earnest, and as a counter measure to a post-war economic decline, an extensive marketing campaign was launched to sell Brookfield viscometers, resulting in the name which has become synonymous with the highest dependability and reliability in viscosity measurement and control.

Brookfield viscometers are used today in a broad range of applications, encompassing the development and production of food products, inks, paints and other coatings, solvents, adhesives, petroleum products, plastics, health and beauty aids, and in the packaging industry.

In 1993, Brookfield Engineering Labs, Inc. was evaluated for consistency in product quality and accuracy, and was granted ISO 9002 certification. In 1997, that certification was upgraded to include documentation and design specifications, which enabled the company to attain ISO 9001 certification.

Brookfield now enjoys a new home in its 93,000 square foot building in Middleboro, Mass., relocating here in January, 1999 after 48 years in its former headquarters in Stoughton, Mass. Brookfield has opened offices in both England and Germany, and today maintains sales and service subsidiaries in those countries.

Brookfield has always operated as a family business, having been privately owned until 1986, when it became an ESOP company. While the family retains majority control, its ESOP status came about through the efforts of Don Brookfield, Sr. in order that the company's commitment to its employees in the form of inclusion as owners would provide an additional retirement benefit. It is a no-cost benefit in which ESOP participants contribute their personal quality, workmanship, efficiency, and productivity towards increasing stock value. The company rewards that personal effort with a significant financial contribution from it profits, which is in addition to any bonuses paid and other benefits.