100% Employee Owned, Founded 1954

Remembering Jim King Jr.

It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of a founding member of the Cross community, James A. King, Jr. Jim King Jr. was the second president of J.A. King, which became Cross Precision Measurement.

Born on July 1, 1933 in Washington, DC, Jim Jr. lived in Charlotte, NC, and moved to Greensboro in March of 1939 with his parents Millie and Jim. The same year, his father, James A. King Sr., founded J.A. King & Co., an industrial scale distributor.

After attending the military boarding school Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, FL, Jim went on to receive a BS degree from North Carolina State University in Mechanical Engineering in 1955.

He met the love of his life, Joan Hester, at the Presbyterian Church of the Covenant near UNCG where Joan went on to receive a degree in teacher education. Jim and Joan married in March 1956 in Greensboro and began “a two-year honeymoon” while Jim served as a First Lieutenant in the United States Air Force at RAF Alconbury near Cambridge, England.

Jim and Joan came back to the US for Jim to join the family business designing and building custom scale systems as the first of what would become many engineers for J.A. King & Co. Jim was an innovator – in 1958 a distributor designing and building custom scales was virtually unheard of. In 1969, Jim Jr. became the second President, taking over from his father and he became Chairman of the Board in 1971.

Remembering Jim King Jr. 1

J.A. King was sold to Cross Company in 2018, becoming the Precision Measurement Group of the 100% employee-owned company.

Jim Jr. also served as a President of the International Society of Weighing & Measurement (ISWM), President of the Scale Dealer’s Association (SDA), and a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) before he retired in 1999 ending an incredible 40-year career in the weighing industry that he so loved.

Jim Jr. was a stalwart of his community. He was a long-time member of the Piedmont Investors’ Club. He served in the Crescent Rotary in Greensboro as a Paul Harris Fellow, and after moving with Joan to Madison Mayodan in 1986, he joined the Madison Mayodan Rotary. In Madison, he served on the Library Board, helped boil peanuts with the Methodist Men in the Methodist Church and later joined the Moravian Church. He was a zealous and proud member of several professional organizations, including the Aircraft Engine Historical Society, Cattlemen’s Association, and North Carolina Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR).

Jim Jr.’s influence is still felt at Cross Company, even by those who didn’t know him. He believed passionately in one of our key cornerstones – character, integrity and professionalism – saying that professionalism is “Knowing from knowledge and experience what is required, doing it, and taking responsibility for doing it.”

All Cross associates send their deepest condolences to the King family in this poignant time.

Latest Cross Company Updates

CMS Cepcor, a leading supplier of aftermarket crusher spares and equipment to global industries, enhanced its quality control with the acquisition of an Altera M coordinate measuring machine.
April 29, 2025
parker transair in action
Parker’s Transair system is an industry leader when it comes to efficient, reliable, and clean piping for compressed air and industrial transfer applications.
April 29, 2025
Our own Jim Hewson, quality director for the Cross Precision Measurement group joins Chuck & Howie from the NAPT Podcast.
April 28, 2025
Cross Logo
Omron Logo
Flow Waterjet, a leader in industrial shape cutting, sought to enhance their machines to meet rising demands for precision and flexibility. Partnering with OMRON Automation, they integrated advanced motion control and safety systems, resulting in machines with unprecedented precision and efficiency.
April 25, 2025
Cross Logo
Brooks Instrument Case study: Using BEST Software to Prevent Process Failures
April 15, 2025

Contact our Team

Hang Tight! We're Searching... Searching... Searching...

We’re looking through thousands of pages to find the most relevant information.

In the meantime, enjoy these fun facts…

Did you know… Cross Company is an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). Our ESOP started in 1979 and as of 2006, we are 100% employee-owned! Learn more about our ESOP and how that benefits both team members and our customers.
Did you know... the precision measurement group at Cross was founded in 1939 by our current CEO's grandfather, Jim King. That's a whole lot of calibration!
Did you know... A fingerprint weighs about 50 micrograms. We know, we weighed it! The residue left from a finger can actually make a difference in weight results which is why we wear gloves when we calibrate weights. For reference, a sheet of paper is about 4.5 grams, that’s 4.5 million micrograms.
Did you know… Cross Company has grown significantly since our start in 1954. Over the years we've acquired 26 companies! Today, our five groups have expertise in everything from industrial automation to precision measurement, and industry knowledge going all the way back to 1939.