Two flow-measurement specialists are becoming one stronger organization. Under TASI Measurement, AW-Lake and KEM are formally uniting their strengths, and the result for customers is straightforward: one broader portfolio and greater reach. This is the AW-Lake / KEM merger, and it is less a change of direction than a natural next step for two companies that have worked closely together for decades. What follows is the story of why it is happening and what the combined organization offers the engineers, OEM specifiers, and industry buyers who rely on precise flow measurement.
The short answer is that AW-Lake and KEM were never really strangers. The relationship began in the mid-1980s, when AW Company became KEM’s exclusive North American distributor. From those earliest days, AW Company developed electronics for the US market that integrated with KEM mechanical flow meters, and the two collaborated on customer applications, product development, and shared target markets. That is a working partnership measured in decades, not quarters.
Nearly two decades ago, the connection grew closer still. AW-Lake and KEM became sister companies within TASI Measurement, with closely aligned technologies serving their respective regions. A clear example of how well the two teams work together is the flagship Coriolis line, formerly known as TRICOR, which was announced in 2011 and reflects a global collaboration that has been in place for many years. So the two organizations have long shared a parent, a customer philosophy, and a great deal of engineering DNA. Formally merging is the logical conclusion of a story that was already well underway.
The driver behind the timing is infrastructure. Internally the effort is known as “One KEM,” and the aim is to change how the two teams work so they operate seamlessly together, letting each department draw on all available resources when a customer need calls for it. In plain terms, uniting the companies removes the seams between them so the combined organization can serve customers better.
The leadership view is captured in an official statement from the combined organization, quoted here as an official statement with attribution still being confirmed: “KEM and AW-Lake have always had a very close working relationship. Bringing the two companies under one name along with improving the working infrastructure between us will help serve our customers better and make our global presence more clear.”
The clearest benefit of the merger is breadth. Bring the two catalogs together and customers can specify across a wide span of flow-measurement technologies from a single partner: positive-displacement and gear meters, turbine, rotary piston, variable-area, ultrasonic, and Coriolis, alongside the sensors, monitors, transmitters, and electronics that turn a raw measurement into usable data.
The two lines fit together rather than overlap. Each company brings sensors and electronics not typically carried by the other but are compatible with most positive-displacement gear meters and turbine flow meters. That is a genuinely complementary pairing. For applications where cost sensitivity or lower-accuracy requirements matter more than premium performance, AW-Lake also carries a line of lower-cost products, so the combined range can meet a project where it actually sits rather than forcing a single tier onto every job.
At the top of the range is the flagship Coriolis family, formerly named TRICOR, for applications that demand high-accuracy mass flow measurement. The combined organization continues to invest in this line, and there may be further additions to the Coriolis range over time. You can explore the combined flow measurement portfolio as it develops.
Reach is the second half of the promise, and here the merger is about geography and resilience. Together, AW-Lake and KEM operate across a global footprint spanning North America, Europe, and Asia, supported by a combined network of 43 sales offices operated by AW-Lake and KEM and locally stocked inventory and service in every region. For a customer that sells globally, that changes the sourcing picture in a practical way: it becomes easier to source products from all locations depending on where they are needed, drawing on stock that is already close to the point of use.
The strengths the two bring are complementary here as well. KEM has particular depth in the Marine and Hydraulic Test Stand markets, while AW-Lake brings expertise in Oil and Gas and Process Cooling. Put those together and the combined organization can support a broader set of demanding industries served with people who already know the applications.
One area where both companies are equally strong is paints, coatings, sealants and adhesives, which remain a large part of the combined business. These are demanding fluids: sometimes highly viscous, sometimes abrasive, sometimes electrically charged (electrostatic). AW-Lake and KEM offer specialized components chosen specifically to measure them accurately, and customers across these industries turn to us as the experts in the application.
One detail matters most to anyone with a specification already in hand: part numbers do not change. The merger makes global sourcing easier and supply more resilient without asking customers to re-engineer their documentation or re-qualify a part under a new number. The reach gets wider while the thing you order stays exactly what it was.
It is worth being clear about what the merger is not. It is not a reset. Nothing is being discontinued, renamed, or consolidated right now, and there are no immediate changes for customers to plan around. The same specialist DNA, and the same people, that made each company a trusted name in flow measurement carry straight through.
That is deliberate. The point of uniting AW-Lake and KEM is to add capability, not to subtract familiarity. Customers keep the products they specify and the expertise they rely on, and they gain a broader portfolio and greater reach on top. You can read more about AW-Lake and how that specialist focus continues into the combined organization.
KEM is a long-standing German flow-measurement specialist and the go-forward brand for the combined organization. Based in Karlsfeld, Germany as KEM Kuppers Elektromechanik GmbH, it has decades of heritage in precision gear, helical and Coriolis flow measurement, including gear meters developed for demanding applications such as automotive paint. KEM and AW-Lake have worked together since the mid-1980s, when AW Company became KEM’s exclusive North American distributor.
TASI Measurement is the parent organization for both AW-Lake and KEM. It is a global industrial measurement and monitoring business made up of around 16 measurement companies whose reach extends well beyond industrial flow into markets such as water and wastewater, HVAC, and data centers, with a broad instrumentation range spanning flow, pressure, and temperature, along with wireless and remote telemetry technology. AW-Lake and KEM have been sister companies within TASI for nearly two decades, sharing closely aligned technologies while serving their respective regions. The merger formally unites them as one organization under that same parent.
The combined portfolio spans positive-displacement gear meters, turbine, rotary piston, variable area, paddle wheel, ultrasonic, and Coriolis technologies, plus sensors, monitors, transmitters, and electronics. The two ranges are complementary, pairing sensors and electronics with mechanical meters and adding some specialty gear and turbine meters not previously offered through AW-Lake, along with lower-cost lines for cost-sensitive requirements. The flagship product line is the Coriolis family (formerly known as TRICOR).
The combined organization operates across a US, European, Asian footprint, with locally stocked inventory in all regions. For customers who sell globally, that makes it easier to source products from the location that fits the need, and part numbers do not change.
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AW-Lake and KEM are Joining Together
We’re excited to share that AW-Lake and KEM Flow Measurement are joining together as one organization. This merger builds on more than 40 years of collaboration and strengthens our ability to serve customers with expanded engineering expertise, broader flow measurement capabilities, and continued reliable support. While our brand will gradually transition to KEM Flow Measurement, our day-today operations remain unchanged. You can continue to count on the same trusted contacts, responsiveness, and partnership you know from AW-Lake.
