Key Takeaways
- • Industrial Control Solutions, a LDR Partners portfolio company, acquired Modern Instrument Company, a 40-year-old provider of aerospace temperature-validation and calibration services based in Long Beach, California, extending ICS's capability across the full temperature-compliance chain from sensors to equipment validation.
- • The acquisition represents ICS's first entry into specialized services (beyond manufacturing), positioning the platform to capture demand Modern has historically been unable to fulfill by adding technician capacity, scheduling infrastructure, and cross-selling opportunities with sister company Duro-Sense.
- • Modern Instrument provides critical aerospace compliance services including temperature uniformity surveys, system accuracy tests, equipment validation, instrumentation calibration, and audit-ready documentation for heat-treatment facilities—services that cannot afford audit failure in regulated aerospace manufacturing.
- • ICS has consolidated four businesses since 2024: Whitman Controls (pressure switches/vacuum sensors), Thomas Products (flow switches/meters), Load Controls (torque/power measurement systems), and Duro-Sense (thermocouples/temperature detectors), with Modern Instrument as the platform's fifth and first services-focused acquisition.
- • Jasmine Smith, Modern Instrument's co-owner and outgoing CEO, will remain as a strategic advisor, signaling continuity for a customer base that operates in overlapping Southern California aerospace markets where both Modern and Duro-Sense have established relationships.
Summary
Industrial Control Solutions, a portfolio company of LDR Partners (a Houston-based sponsor focused on lower middle-market industrial manufacturing), has acquired Modern Instrument Company, a Long Beach-headquartered provider of aerospace temperature-validation and calibration services. The acquisition, announced in August 2026, marks a significant strategic expansion for ICS by introducing specialized services capability to complement its existing manufacturing operations across industrial control components.
Modern Instrument has operated for nearly four decades serving aerospace manufacturers and heat-treatment facilities throughout the Southern California aerospace corridor. The company specializes in ensuring that ovens and furnaces used in aerospace parts heat-treatment maintain precise, uniform temperatures while generating the certified compliance documentation required to satisfy regulatory audits. Its service portfolio encompasses temperature uniformity surveys, system accuracy tests, equipment validation, instrumentation calibration, and audit-ready compliance documentation—functions critical to aerospace supply chain partners where compliance failures carry operational and regulatory consequences.
The acquisition extends ICS's capabilities across the full temperature-measurement value chain. ICS was formed in 2024 through LDR's consolidation of four industrial control businesses: Whitman Controls (pressure switches and vacuum sensors, originally acquired by LDR in 2019), Thomas Products (flow switches and meters, 2024), Load Controls (torque and power measurement systems, 2025), and Duro-Sense (thermocouples and temperature detectors, 2025). Modern Instrument becomes the platform's fifth component and first services-focused acquisition. By integrating Modern's validation and calibration services with Duro-Sense's temperature sensors—both serving overlapping aerospace customers in Southern California—ICS can now offer customers a comprehensive ecosystem spanning certified sensors through system validation, calibration, and documentation required for ongoing operational compliance.
ICS CEO Matt Powers stated that Modern represents the company's intended service expansion strategy, noting that the acquisition "launches our services capability, strengthens the West Coast presence we established with Duro-Sense, and expands the range of specialized services we can deliver to customers nationwide." Management plans to deploy additional technician capacity, enhanced scheduling systems, and cross-referral mechanisms between Modern and Duro-Sense to address historical capacity constraints that forced Modern to decline customer work. Jasmine Smith, Modern's co-owner and outgoing chief executive, will transition to a strategic advisor role, supporting customer relationships and operational continuity. The platform is headquartered in Bristol, Connecticut, and is led by Managing Partner Ryan Martin at LDR Partners.
Modern Instrument has operated for nearly four decades serving aerospace manufacturers and heat-treatment facilities throughout the Southern California aerospace corridor. The company specializes in ensuring that ovens and furnaces used in aerospace parts heat-treatment maintain precise, uniform temperatures while generating the certified compliance documentation required to satisfy regulatory audits. Its service portfolio encompasses temperature uniformity surveys, system accuracy tests, equipment validation, instrumentation calibration, and audit-ready compliance documentation—functions critical to aerospace supply chain partners where compliance failures carry operational and regulatory consequences.
The acquisition extends ICS's capabilities across the full temperature-measurement value chain. ICS was formed in 2024 through LDR's consolidation of four industrial control businesses: Whitman Controls (pressure switches and vacuum sensors, originally acquired by LDR in 2019), Thomas Products (flow switches and meters, 2024), Load Controls (torque and power measurement systems, 2025), and Duro-Sense (thermocouples and temperature detectors, 2025). Modern Instrument becomes the platform's fifth component and first services-focused acquisition. By integrating Modern's validation and calibration services with Duro-Sense's temperature sensors—both serving overlapping aerospace customers in Southern California—ICS can now offer customers a comprehensive ecosystem spanning certified sensors through system validation, calibration, and documentation required for ongoing operational compliance.
ICS CEO Matt Powers stated that Modern represents the company's intended service expansion strategy, noting that the acquisition "launches our services capability, strengthens the West Coast presence we established with Duro-Sense, and expands the range of specialized services we can deliver to customers nationwide." Management plans to deploy additional technician capacity, enhanced scheduling systems, and cross-referral mechanisms between Modern and Duro-Sense to address historical capacity constraints that forced Modern to decline customer work. Jasmine Smith, Modern's co-owner and outgoing chief executive, will transition to a strategic advisor role, supporting customer relationships and operational continuity. The platform is headquartered in Bristol, Connecticut, and is led by Managing Partner Ryan Martin at LDR Partners.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.