NORWOOD, MA — Instron, a provider of testing equipment designed to evaluate the mechanical properties of materials and components, is celebrating its 70th anniversary on March 15.
Instron was established in 1946 by Harold Hindman and George Burr, who were working together at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to investigate suitable substitutes for silk that could be used in the manufacture of parachutes. After discovering there was no testing machine available accurate enough to meet their requirements, Hindman and Burr designed a materials testing instrument.