The company patented such items as the sliding combination square, bench vises, and a shoe hook fastener.

In 1882, Starrett traveled to London and Paris to appoint sales representatives, thereby starting up the international marketing of his products.

[6] In 1920, the company added its first gauge to the product line and quickly became the world's largest innovator and maker of precision calibrators.

The post-war period was a time of overseas expansion, with Starrett opening a factory in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1956.

Starrett Co. purchased Tru-Stone Technologies Inc. in Waite Park, Minnesota, a maker of custom-engineered granite machine bases, for $19.8 million in cash.

[9] In March 2024, with Douglas A Starrett as its President and CEO, the company announced that it would be acquired by private equity firm MiddleGround Capital.

[10] On June 5, 2024, L. S. Starrett Co. announced that it had completed a merger with an affiliate of MiddleGround and became a privately held company.