Our History

Continued Calibration and Research (1966 - 1986)

Eventually, the University of Colorado's interest waned, and in 1966, with the assistance of Dr. Arnberg, the non-profit organization separated from the university and moved to the present site - a surplus Atlas E nuclear missile site near Nunn, Colorado. The name was changed to Colorado Engineering Experiment Station, Inc. During the late 1960's and early 1970's, the facility became home to two new primary flow standards, identified as "Primary A" and "Primary B", which are still in use today. Primary A is a volumetric system and Primary B is a gravemetric system. These primary systems were involved in some of the first measurement comparison program tests-- a "measurement comparison program" uses a flow meter that is calibrated by multiple facilities to compare the performance of different primary systems with each other.

During the late 1970's and early 1980's the facility grew significantly as the water lab, high flow pad, and multiple secondary test systems were constructed. In the 1980's the balance of calibration workload shifted away from aerospace and towards the natural gas industry.

The corporation retained its non-profit status until 1986 when Walt Seidl (who had been president of the organization since 1975) and Steve Caldwell (who was heavily involved in designing and fabricating many of the facility test areas) purchased the facility. The company was renamed Colorado Engineering Experiment Station, Inc. (CEESI), which has operated as an independent commercial calibration facility ever since.


Facilities & Services Expand (1986 - 1998)

During this time, calibration operations continued to expand. Several additional test stands including the piston prover system (call the "Porter) and a high air flow test stand (called "R&D") were constructed. Also during this time, CEESI began offering flow measurement training courses on a variety of topics.

CEESI participated in several measurement comparison programs with other American calibration labs as well as with labs in Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Norway, Australia, Russia, China, and the Netherlands. These intercomparisons provided a mechanism for maintaining the highest level of quality for calibration services.

CEESI assisted in the development of several meter types including turbine flowmeters and V-Cone testing with wet gas. In addition, CEESI performed extensive valve testing for a wide variety of aerospace and natural gas customers. Performance evaluations of electronic flow measurement systems under simulated field conditions were conducted for several companies, and CEESI has participated in the development of international orifice meter standards. Additional research included control valve noise investigations, flow conditioner performance, super critical CO₂ research, and oil effect studies on orifice measurement.


Iowa Natural Gas Calibration Facility Completed (1999)

In the 1990's the need for a natural gas facility in the United States was very apparent. Ultrasonic meter manufacturers and users did not have access to a calibration facility in the United States; these calibration needs could only be met in Europe at great expense. In addition, there was a desire by American ultrasonic meter manufacturers to have their meters traceable to standards in the United States. To address this need, CEESI entered into a partnership with the Northern Plains Natural Gas Company and several flow meter vendors to develop a high capacity, natural gas facility specifically the purpose of calibrating ultrasonic meters. After several years of planning and construction, the Iowa high flow calibration facility was completed in 1999. The facility was designed so that a fraction of the gas delivered to the custody transfer station is directed through a high pressure calibration loop.


Gas Loop Facility Operational (1999)

Several large energy companies participated in a Joint Industry Project in 1997 to fund research regarding wet gas metering. These companies, along with the Gas Research Institute, funded the project for three years. The Wet Gas Test Facility has built at CEESI's Colorado site in order to facilitate this and future research, and came online in 1999. This facility allowed CEESI to recreate a wide range of various flow conditions required for testing field equipment.


CEESI Begins Hosting the ISFFM (1999)

Starting in 1999, CEESI assumed the responsibility of secretariat of the International Symposium on Fluid Flow Measurement (ISFFM). In addition, every subsequent ISFFM has been hosted by CEESI including in 2002, 2006, and 2009. CEESI began hosting the symposium to provide a platform for corporations, universities, government laboratories, industrial research laboratories, and industrial field study teams to share information on a wide variety of research and technology topics associated with fluid flow measurement. In 2007, CEESI continued its efforts to expand the usefulness of research presented at the symposium by working with the North American Fluid Flow Measurement Council so that the proceedings would be available online. CEESI began posting ISFFM proceedings on the internet for free as part of the Flow Measurement Technical Library.


First Ultrasonic Meter Seminar Hosted (2001)

In response to the need for education regarding ultrasonic meters, CEESI began hosting the Ultrasonic Meter Seminar in 2001. The annual seminar was designed to bring manufactures and users together to share information, and further the adoption of the ultrasonic meter as a highly accurate flow meter. Currently, the seminar, now called the Ultrasonic Meter User's Workshop, is held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Singapore, and Bolivia.


CEESI Earns NVLAP Accreditation (2004)

In 2004, CEESI expanded its quality assurance program and earned accreditation from NIST as part of the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP). NVLAP is an independent organization that recognizes quality programs for compliance to national and international standards.


CEESI Technical Library Goes Online (2007)

Technicians, engineers, and researchers often have a difficult time performing literature studies on flow measurement topics. Papers are published by a wide variety of organizations and individuals; there had not been any concerted effort to collect them into a common tool that could be useful to the flow measurement industry. In response to this need, CEESI developed the Technical Library in 2007. This tool, which was renamed the Flow Measurement Technical Library has continually been expanded and now incorporates documents from over a dozen major organizations within flow measurement industry.


Contribution to Measurement Committees & Standards Development

Throughout the years, CEESI engineers have been heavily involved with a variety organizations involved in flow measurement and standards development. CEESI engineers have:

• Worked on writing/developing standards for AGA, ISO, and ASME
• Served on committees for ASGMT, ASME, ISO, AGA, GRI, API, GTI, NAFFMC, and AGMSC
• Taught presented/instructed at: ISHM, ASGMT, AGMSC, SGA, ISFFM, and MMSS
• Supervised flow measurement testing for portions of AGA 7

CEESI Measurement Solutions Incorporated (2011)

In 2011, the Engineering Services division of CEESI merged with CPL & Associates to form the CEESI Measurement Solutions. The mission of this new company is to provide on-site/off-site analysis and measurement solutions including: Lost-And Unaccounted-For (LAUF) fluids, system balancing, meter station design, and meter troubleshooting.