⭐ Founding & Origins (1962)

Carlon Meter was founded in 1962 in Grand Haven, Michigan, USA.

It has remained in the same city for over 60 years, building a reputation for durable potable‑water meters and industrial flow‑measurement controls.

Early focus;

- Positive displacement (piston) meters

- Multi‑jet meters

- Turbine meters

- Water‑treatment controls

Carlon positioned itself as a precision industrial meter maker, not a municipal‑utility giant like Badger or Sensus.

⭐ Growth Through the 1970s–1990s

During these decades, Carlon expanded into industrial and commercial metering, supplying:

cooling towers, boilers, food‑processing plants, agricultural irrigation, building‑level sub‑metering

Carlon also developed:

batch controllers, timers, signal splitters, contacting meters.

These made Carlon popular with engineers and plant operators who needed rugged, long‑life meters. During 1980 to 1982 Carlon established a technical relationship with Manu Electronics (ManuFlo) where the inventive Australian company was fitting out Carlon water meters with its high-resolution electronic optical pulse output technology, as employed in its own MEG20 flow meter products. These were used with UME preselect batch controllers for measuring water based chemicals for the premix concrete industry.

⭐ Product Line Expansion (2000s–2010s)

Carlon broadened its range to include:

- Positive displacement meters (JSJ, JL, JLR, VPD)

- Multi‑jet meters (SSM, JLP, MRS)

- Single‑jet meters (SJM)

- Turbine meters (cold‑water industrial)

- Ultrasonic inline meters (USM)

⭐ Carlon Today (2020s–2026)

Carlon remains a privately held U.S. manufacturer Headquarters at 1710 Eaton Drive, Grand Haven, Michigan USA.

Current capabilities;

potable‑water meters (½″ to 6″ standard; up to 20″ custom)

industrial flow meters

ultrasonic meters

batch controllers

slow‑closing valves

sub‑metering solutions

agricultural irrigation meters

long‑life brass and engineered‑polymer meters

with AWWA‑compliant accuracy.

The HWM.Museum has a few Carlon water meters in its collection including pictured below left the Carlon-Manu electronic pulse meter.