The 2025 A&D Ugly Scale Contest Winners!
See the 3 Finalists and 2 Honorable Mentions from Our First Annual Celebration
We asked, and boy did our customers answer!
A&D’s balances and scales are Japanese-engineered to be the longest-lasting, most durable weighing instruments on the market, backed by industry-leading warranties. We’re proud that our customers have and will use our balances and scales long enough for them to become beat up, worn and ugly. So, we wanted to celebrate the work that is being done with them every day.
This fall, just in time for Ugly Sweater Season, we asked for photos of the oldest, most beat-up A&D equipment that is still in use. Just a picture and short description of how old the scale or balance is and what you’ve been using it for was going to win someone a $500 Amazon gift card, a free cleanup of their existing scale/upgrade to the latest model, and their very own A&D Ugly Sweater, just in time for Christmas!
We were thrilled with the response we got. So many scales and balances being used in industries from Food and Beverage factories to Automotive repair shops to City wastewater treatment plants and even a competition arrow manufacturer! All of them using A&D equipment that has been around for as long as 3 decades and still delivering the consistent, dependable accuracy they need every day. There were too many submissions to list here, but we did want to highlight our top 3 winners, along with a couple of others who just missed the cut.
A huge thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s contest. Given the response we got this year, we’re already eagerly planning for next year. So, if your submission didn’t get chosen this year (or you weren’t able to submit before the deadline), you will have another shot to win!
Honorable Mentions
Company: Meldrum Scale Co. FC-5000
Age: 15 Years (12/2010)
Description: This is part of a dual scale parts counting scale that is used in the process of manufacturing Easton competition arrows. Don’t actually know the sales date but I have records of testing this scale semi annually since Dec 2010. We recently replaced the power adaptor, wired it directly to the PCBD.
Company: Bid Chihuahua FC-20
Age: 15 Years (09/2010)
Description: This scale was rented with a client. The client has racks that they call pagodas for hanging wires. One of the racks was overloaded, the leg bent, and the material fell onto the scale. I have the scale in my office and the load cell and keyboard are still working.
Third-Place
Company: City of Waverly HM-200
Age: 25 Years (07/2000)
Description: While it may not be the ugliest with grime, I think it may be a contender for the oldest and ugliest style. It’s the primary balance in our wastewater facility, so what it sees on a daily basis is pretty ugly!
Second-Place
Company: Garber Metrology EK-15
Age: 5 Years (09/2020)
Description: Weighing ceiling tiles before and after to determine if the correct paint is being sprayed on each tile.
First-Place
Company: Faradco FC-20
Age: 28 Years (02/1997)
Description: That’s our old A&D scale, “Old Reliable.” My dad bought it for our small engine repair shop in the 90s. It saved us from the nightmare of hand counting thousands of tiny nuts and bolts for inventory. It’s covered in grime, but that’s just proof it earned its keep.
Another huge thank you to everyone who participated this year. If you didn’t win, come on back next year and try again. And if you’re looking for a scale that might last you the next 30 years of measurement, you can learn more about all of A&D Weighing’s solutions here: https://weighing.andonline.com/products/.