Parr Instrument Company is engaged in the design, manufacture and sale of laboratory instruments and apparatus for testing fuels and for conducting chemical reactions and tests under heat and pressure. The company was founded in 1899 at Champaign, Illinois as the Standard Calorimeter Company by S.W. Parr, a professor at the University of Illinois. Professor Parr had developed a simplified instrument for measuring the heating value of coal at a time when such devices were not generally available. Parr's 'calorie meter' (written and pronounced Calorimeter) and other fuel testing devices were contributing factors in the development of a market for the extensive reserves of bituminous coal available in Illinois at a time when most users believed that the only useful coal had to come from eastern United States coal fields. Manufacturing operations of the Standard Calorimeter Company were moved to East Moline, Illinois in 1911. Then, following World War I the company moved to a new facility at 222-52nd Street, Moline which housed both the calorimeter business and an alloy foundry for producing a line of acid-resistant stainless steels developed by Professor Parr, primarily for use in Parr calorimeters but marketed to other users as well.

In 1927 the Standard Calorimeter Company joined with the C.F.Burgess Laboratories of Madison, Wisconsin to form a new firm called the Burgess-Parr Company. This linkage was terminated in 1933 with the Burgess interests retaining all interest in the stainless alloy operation, and the newly incorporated Parr Instrument Company retaining the calorimeter and laboratory apparatus segment of the business with Harold L.Parr, son of the founder, as president. During World War II the company manufactured high precision machine parts under contract with suppliers to the war effort, while continuing to produce calorimeters and other laboratory apparatus to the extent permitted by the limited availability of critical raw materials. In the years following WWII the company introduced a line of laboratory vessels and apparatus for handling chemical reactions and tests under pressure. This soon became a growing part of the business that now includes both standard designs and custom-built equipment in laboratory and pilot plant sizes. Uses for this equipment are found in a broad range of chemical research, development and control laboratories.

Starting from Professor Parr's first calorimeters, which were used mainly by railroads and central power stations for evaluating coal, uses for Parr calorimeters now extend into other fields where they are used for testing a variety of solid and liquid fuels, foodstuffs and other combustible materials. Many unique designs and highly automated instrumentation have been added to its expanding lines of fuel testing instruments and chemical reaction equipment. Having devoted its attention specifically to these specialty products for over one hundred years, the Parr Instrument Company has developed a fine reputation among chemists and scientists throughout the world as a dependable supplier of top quality laboratory equipment.

As evidence of its export activity, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued the President's 'E' Award to the company in 1982 for its contribution to the export program of the United States. A supplemental 'E Star' followed this Award in 1988 for the company's continued growth in the export field. Over fifty percent of all Parr sales now go to users outside of the United States. Parr's Overall Quality Assurance System has been certified to be in compliance with ISO 9001 for Total Quality Procedures. Parr also holds ASME and TUV Certification for pressure vessel design and testing, and CSA Certification for electrical safety. All operations of the company are centered at its plant in Moline which has approximately 95 employees, most of whom are highly trained professionals or skilled journeyman machinists and technicians. The company also operates a foreign sales branch in Frankfurt A/M Germany.

Parr History

    History    
Today's Date: 09 September 2010
Parr Instrument Company
211 Fifty Third Street
Moline, Illinois 61265-9984
1-800-872-7720 / (309) 762-7716 FAX (309) 762-9453
Email: parr@parrinst.com