What Link Engineering makes

Link Engineering Company (LINK) designs and builds precision test equipment for vehicles and vehicle components, and runs its own network of accredited testing labs. Its core products are dynamometers and test benches: brake performance and brake noise, vibration, and harshness dynamometers that range from small friction-material units up to 20,000-horsepower installations for aircraft brakes, plus wheel-end, transmission and driveline, powertrain, and steering test systems. The company describes itself as the operator of the largest brake laboratory in the world, and an HBK case study calls it a market leader in noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) brake test systems.

Alongside brake work, LINK builds servo-hydraulic and servo-electric test actuators under its Servo Dynamics line, structural and fatigue rigs, and environmental and climatic chambers through its Tescor unit. Every machine runs on ProLINK, the company's proprietary control and data-acquisition software, developed in-house since the 1990s. A separate testing-services arm offers performance, vehicle dynamics, NVH, structural and fatigue, chemical, certification, and metrology testing for OEMs and their tier suppliers. Its sister company Link Industries makes precision cutting tools and edge finders, a line that traces back to 1950.

The customer base spans automotive, electric vehicles, aerospace, HVAC and refrigeration, rail, and off-highway equipment. In 2025 the company added a Powertrain Test Beds line aimed at electrified drivelines and e-motors, extending a business that began with spring testers in 1935 into the testing needs of modern EV programs.

Ownership and history

Herbert Link founded the company in a Detroit basement in 1935, making tap wrenches, edge finders, and spring testing devices. It built its first inertia-type brake dynamometer in the 1960s, which opened the door to partnerships with Detroit's automakers. Herbert's son Roy Link joined full-time in 1970 and was named CEO and President in 1989; the company established its Plymouth, Michigan design and manufacturing headquarters in the 1990s and developed ProLINK there.

LINK is independent and family-owned into its third generation. In 2019 the family created Link Group, Inc., a holding company in Plymouth that oversees Link Engineering Company, Tescor, and Link Industries. Day-to-day leadership per the company's own executive-team page: Roy Link, Chairman and CEO; Matthew G. Link, President, who joined in 1997 and was named President in 2013; and Adam R. Link, Chief Technology Officer, who joined in 2008 and oversaw the company's China operations. The company grew partly through acquisition: Dynamic Test Equipment in 2014, SERVO2000 of Milan in 2016, Tescor in 2017, and the assets of Xytek Industries in 2023. It also announced a tire-testing technology partnership with Calspan in 2022.

Locations

LINK states it operates more than 20 facilities worldwide. Its largest design and manufacturing plant is in Plymouth, Michigan, alongside the Link Group corporate office. Other US sites include a testing laboratory in Detroit, an NSF-approved chemical laboratory in Dearborn, the Link Industries cutting-tool plant in Indian River, and vehicle test and proving-ground operations in Wittmann, Arizona, East Liberty, Ohio, and Warminster, Pennsylvania. International engineering and testing sites include Limburg, Germany; Shanghai and Huangshan, China; Seoul, Korea; Magenta, Italy; and Sorocaba, Brazil. The global footprint lets LINK build equipment in the US while running local testing and calibration close to customers.

Certifications and quality

LINK's Plymouth design and manufacturing operation is certified to ISO 9001:2015, with a current certificate dated July 2026 posted on the company's own site. Its testing and calibration services carry ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditations at multiple sites, including the US, Shanghai, Germany, and Brazil, which is the relevant standard for a lab that issues test data OEMs rely on for certification. The company also lists ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 certifications at its Shanghai site, a DIN EN ISO 9001:2015 certificate at Limburg dated March 2025, and an NSF certificate of approval for its Dearborn chemical laboratory. The company states it targets 100% on-time delivery and continuous process improvement across its quality system.

Known customers

LINK does not name individual OEM customers with program-level detail on the public record, which is normal for a testing partner bound by confidentiality. The company describes itself as a partner to global OEMs and suppliers, and the HBK case study states that LINK supplies NVH test systems to the world's major automakers. Treat these as sector-level facts rather than a documented customer list. Buyers evaluating LINK should ask directly for references in their specific segment, whether that is brake friction, driveline durability, or EV powertrain validation.

Sourcing evidence

Link Engineering's US import record is small and consistent with an equipment builder, not a parts reseller. Bills of lading show 40 sea shipments from June 2015 through June 2026, averaging about 2.12 twenty-foot-equivalent containers each. The suppliers on record are specialized test-hardware makers rather than raw-material vendors:

Five shown of the suppliers on record. By HS chapter, the mix leads with measuring, checking, and precision instruments (chapter 90, including testing machines under 9024 and 9031), followed by automotive parts (87), iron and steel enclosures (73), and machinery (84). That pattern, precision instruments and acoustic enclosures in, finished test systems out, is the signature of a company that builds and services equipment domestically and worldwide while importing only specialized subassemblies. One import entity on record, Link Transportation Testing Technology in Shanghai, is LINK's own China operation, an intercompany flow rather than a third-party supplier.

Coverage caveats: these are US ocean-freight records only. Air, truck, and rail movements do not appear, some records name freight intermediaries rather than manufacturers, and product categories come from declared manifest codes, which are noisy. Absence of a record is not evidence of absence, and for a firm whose business is domestic equipment build and on-site testing, import volume understates activity by design.

Frequently asked questions

What does Link Engineering Company make?

Link Engineering designs and builds precision test equipment for vehicles and components, including brake dynamometers, wheel-end and driveline test systems, servo-hydraulic and servo-electric actuators, and environmental chambers, all running on its ProLINK control software. It also operates accredited testing laboratories offering performance, NVH, structural, chemical, and certification testing, and makes precision cutting tools through its Link Industries unit.

Who owns Link Engineering Company?

Link Engineering is independent and family-owned into its third generation. It was founded by Herbert Link in 1935, and is now held through Link Group, Inc., a Plymouth, Michigan holding company established in 2019 that also owns Tescor and Link Industries. Roy Link is Chairman and CEO, Matthew G. Link is President, and Adam R. Link is Chief Technology Officer.

Where is Link Engineering Company headquartered?

Link Engineering is headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan, where it runs its largest design and manufacturing facility along with the Link Group corporate office. The company states it operates more than 20 facilities worldwide, with US sites in Michigan, Arizona, Ohio, and Pennsylvania and international sites in Germany, China, Korea, Italy, and Brazil.

How big is Link Engineering Company?

Link Engineering operates more than 20 facilities worldwide. An HBK case study cited approximately 250 people at the Plymouth site, while broker data models a larger figure across all Link Group operations, so a workforce in the several-hundred range is plausible. The company does not publish audited revenue; it is a private, family-owned business.

What certifications does Link Engineering hold?

Link Engineering's Plymouth design and manufacturing operation is certified to ISO 9001:2015, with a current certificate dated July 2026. Its testing and calibration services hold ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditations at multiple sites in the US, China, Germany, and Brazil, and the company also lists ISO 14001, ISO 45001, and an NSF chemical-laboratory approval.

Who are Link Engineering's customers?

Link Engineering does not publish a named customer list, which is normal for a confidential testing partner. It describes itself as a partner to global OEMs and suppliers across automotive, aerospace, HVAC, and rail, and an industry case study says it supplies NVH test systems to the world's major automakers. Buyers should request segment-specific references directly.

Last verified September 27, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.