In the early 1940’s construction of the John Lodge Expressway forced Link Engineering to move out of the storefront and into the company’s first stand-alone facility on Elmira Street, in Detroit. Herbert continued to expand the business and brought in key employees, such as Lee Dawdy and Bob Frederick, launching what would become longstanding careers with the company. During this period, Link acquired the United Electric Company from General Motors, providing an entry to the electric motor repair business. In the mid 1940’s, Link hired T.P. Chase, after his retirement from GM, and Link and GM worked together in developing the Chase machine as a method to assess friction material characteristics.
Already the proud parents of 3 daughters, in 1944, Herbert and Martha Link were thrilled to finally add a son to their family. In due time, Roy would come to lead the company into the next century.
Through the 40’s and 50’s, Link’s spring testers became a booming product. They were sold at a higher rate than ever before, allowing the company to produce multiple stands at a time. The division would eventually be led by Dave McGhee, in sales, and Harold Palmer, in manufacturing. In addition to this business, the company also began developing pump & motor test systems, including its patented Uni-Beam, designed by Milt Weber, which measured torque before there were electronic transducers. Pneumatic air mount systems were made to isolate machine bases and seismic blocks from transmitting vibrations, while maintaining a level surface. Hydraulic test systems for accumulators and power units were also produced by Link, for companies such as Vickers. Link was becoming a wide range provider of test solutions.