Upholding a 174-year legacy, Ashcroft’s culture drives its leadership in pressure and temperature measurement solutions
For more than 170 years, Ashcroft has set the standard for pressure and temperature measurement in industries where accuracy, safety, and compliance are paramount. Founded by Edward Ashcroft in 1852 when he acquired US patent and manufacturing rights from French inventor, Eugène Bourdon, the company’s strategy began with pioneering steam pressure safety solutions and has continuously evolved to meet the growing technical demands of modern industrial systems. Today, Ashcroft combines deep application expertise with advanced sensor technologies to deliver instrumentation engineered for reliability in the world’s most critical environments. A true trailblazer in innovation, its industrial measurement and control solutions are trusted by the world’s leading companies, including process industry pioneers, OEMs, EPCs, and manufacturers operating under strict regulatory and performance requirements. From oil and gas, and chemical and pharmaceutic processing to semiconductor manufacturing, water treatment, and more, Ashcroft delivers both standard and custom-engineered pressure and temperature instruments tailored to specific applications to help organizations operate more safely, efficiently, and effectively.
One thing that truly sets Ashcroft apart, however, is its relentless pursuit of quality and excellence. With a global reputation for precision and integrity, the company boasts strong relationships with its employees, customers, and suppliers, and is proud of its passionate, purpose-driven workforce who take ownership beyond the job.
As the company edges ever-closer to its 200-year milestone, Manufacturing Today sits down with Arlene Campbell-Moore, Director of Supply Chain at Ashcroft, and John Pennell, Director of Business Development, to learn more about how Ashcroft is leveraging cutting-edge technology and a closely-collaborative approach to cultivate world-leading success.
“There is a high level of cross-functional engagement across Ashcroft, particularly within our New Product Introduction (NPI) processes, where sales, engineering, product, marketing, and procurement teams work closely together,” Arlene begins. “During the NPI test phase, our engineering, product, and procurement teams work closely together to address critical considerations such as raw material selection, sourcing regulations, and customer requirements. We approach sourcing through a business-continuity lens, planning not only for primary suppliers but also establishing secondary and tertiary sourcing strategies to ensure long-term resilience.
“One thing I think Ashcroft does best is bring people from different parts of the organization together in focused working sessions to explore market developments and identify the key internal contributors for each initiative. This approach helps ensure we achieve the best possible outcomes from every functional perspective while giving all teams a shared, holistic view of the products we plan to introduce.”
Specializing in the design and manufacture of temperature, pressure, and test instruments, innovation runs at the very core of Ashcroft. This focus permeates every facet of the business, from its internal operations to external sourcing, and forms a fundamental part of its wider investment strategy.
“One example of this is our approach to sensor technology,” John explains. “Ashcroft has invested heavily in owning and developing our core sensor technology rather than sourcing it externally. By leveraging Nagano Keiki (Ashcroft’s parent company) sensor technology across our transducer platforms, we’ve established a common design foundation that supports multiple products.
“This shared architecture allows us to standardize components while still modifying electronics and configurations to meet different certifications and application requirements. Owning the technology creates natural standardization and reduces supply chain risk. It also allows us to streamline development, improve consistency and maintain control over quality without compromising performance.”
Arlene adds: “Everything we are doing now is driven by analytics,” she explains. “We’ve made significant investments in AI because we see it as foundational to the future of the business. Integrating these tools into our operations allows us to build a strong, data-driven foundation. Alongside our MRP systems, we are leveraging Power BI to consolidate analytics across our global operations, giving us forward-looking insights. These projections help us evaluate decisions such as internal versus external sourcing, global cost dynamics, and how to best deploy resources across the business. The goal is to clearly visualize our supply-chain strategy and ensure it is fully aligned with our broader business objectives. This focus has also driven continued investment in education and capabilities, including plans to establish a Center of Excellence to support long-term supply-chain performance and business growth.”
This emphasis on education and people development is representative of the perpetual passion and care that Ashcroft extends to its people – its most important asset of all. Proudly awarded as one of the Top Workplaces in Connecticut in both 2023 and 2024, the company continues to prove the value of a strong culture in encouraging the highest standards of quality and innovation.
“It all speaks to the appreciation of the leadership team towards the employees,” Arlene elaborates. “Sometimes that shows up in simple but meaningful ways, like our President handing out ice cream on a hot summer day or hosting company picnics. Our HR team plays an important role in fostering strong connections across the organization, helping to bring leadership, early-career employees, and everyone in between together. We also place strong emphasis on giving back to the communities where we live and work, creating opportunities for employees to engage in meaningful volunteer and outreach efforts. Together, these initiatives encourage engagement beyond day-to-day work and help people feel connected and included. That sense of community naturally carries into the workplace, where employees are more willing to collaborate, support one another, and hold themselves and each other accountable.”
John agrees: “Ashcroft’s longevity comes down to its people and leadership. Our employees take pride in what they do and believe in the core values that define the company – accountable, connected and inventive.”
Looking to the future ahead, Ashcroft is well-positioned for many more decades of innovation, prosperity, and growth. Building further upon its successes of 2025, the organization continues to be defined as a company of excellence, with a rich legacy of quality, dynamism, and strategic development, as it moves into its next chapter in 2026.
“One of our key governance strategies, fully implemented in 2025, is conducting structured quarterly reviews with our suppliers. In 2026, we plan to further elevate this approach by deepening collaboration and accountability across our supplier network. These reviews enable transparent, data-driven conversations focused on continuous improvements such as on-time delivery performance, quality and defect trends, critical part risk, and the establishment of dual-sourcing where appropriate. By strengthening supplier partnerships in this way, we are reinforcing responsible sourcing practices, operational resilience, and long-term value creation,” Arlene emphasizes, optimistic for the rest of the year ahead.
“My long-term vision is to build strong, integrated global supply-chain partnerships,” she adds. “Ashcroft has a strong international footprint, and we are continuing to strengthen supply-chain capabilities across our global divisions. I look forward to advancing our Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process so we can achieve a truly enterprise-wide view of the business and its global operations. We are well positioned and firmly on the path to fully mature IBP capabilities within the next three to five years.”
John concludes: “From a brand and marketing perspective, Ashcroft has a strong reputation for precision and protection. Customers in critical industries value risk mitigation, so reliability and brand reputation matter. With its longevity in the market, Ashcroft is a trusted resource that our customers can rely on. The marketing campaigns we generate reinforce this core theme and help our customers made confident decisions when it comes to the instrumentation they use for their mission-critical applications. We emphasize ‘educational resources’ and provide product documentation, data sheets, manuals, blog articles, videos, and more to help customers optimize performance.
“The long-term vision is to transition from a primarily mechanical instrumentation legacy to a truly sensor and system instrumentation company – maintaining the reputation for reliability and quality, while embracing digital, connectivity, and new energy markets. The fact that Ashcroft calls itself ‘Measurement that moves the world forward’ signals this orientation. Over the next three to five years, Ashcroft should continue to be trusted resource for industrial measurement and control solutions. That means expanding our market knowledge, growing our customer base, and evolving our product portfolio while staying true to our core principles. Growth is important, but it must be built on the same foundation that has sustained Ashcroft for over 170 years: safety, reliability, trust, and people who stand behind the products they deliver.”