History of Sensus Metering Systems

Sensus Metering Systems traces its origins back more than 100 years, with the founding of National Meter Company in 1870 and the Pittsburgh Meter Company in 1886. These two businesses were first brought together in 1927 by a young engineer named "Colonel" Willard F. Rockwell who had been hired several years earlier to run Pittsburgh Meter Company. Twenty years later, Colonel Rockwell bought the company and renamed it Rockwell Manufacturing Company. Rockwell Manufacturing Company, which was known at the time for its positive displacement and turbine meters, demonstrated its commitment to industry leading technological advancements by introducing a revolutionary new water meter called the SR (sealed register) meter in 1957.

Rockwell Manufacturing Company ultimately became Rockwell International in 1972 and combined the water meter business with its gas and valve operations into the Measurement and Flow Control Division. In March of 1989, the Measurement and Flow Control Division was sold to BTR plc. After BTR acquired the businesses they renamed the water meter operation Sensus Technologies, Inc. which became a global provider of water meters and AMR systems, and the gas meter operation was named Equimeter Inc. which is a leading provider of gas measurement equipment. The linked businesses retained their company names as they are today, Smith-Blair, Inc. a leading provider of pipe clamp & coupling products for the water, gas, and industrial markets; and Precision Die Casting, Inc. a producer of complex, high quality die castings. Over the next several years, the Company made several technological advancements through agreements with Utilicom, a provider of communications technology which became the core of the present day water AMR system, and Eurometers, Ltd, a producer of ultrasonic gas measurement technology which became the core of the next generation Sonix gas meters. Today, these business form the core of today’s Sensus Metering Systems.

Through a series of acquisitions in the mid to late 1990s, the Company further expanded its offering of metering products to create what is today one of the broadest and most technologically advanced portfolios in the industry. In 1996, BTR acquired the Pollux Meter Group ("PMG") of Europe which solidified its position as the leading world provider of meters and AMR systems to water utilities. In addition, PMG expanded Sensus' international sales coverage, strengthened its water technology and added a technologically advanced heat meter business. Additionally in 1997, BTR acquired Medidores Lautaro SAIC, a water meter manufacturer in Santiago, Chile that provided Sensus with a presence in South America.

In 1999, BTR merged with Siebe plc to form Invensys plc, a leader in global automation and controls. Invensys Metering Systems was formed and immediately demonstrated its continued commitment to the global metering business by making several acquisitions and entering into several partnerships designed to round out its product and technology portfolio. In 2000, Invensys entered into a license agreement with Sentec for a unique planar sensor technology for electric meters, which is the basis for iCon, a solid-state intelligent communicating electric meter.

As part of a restructuring plan intended to focus the company on its Production Management division, Invensys plc announced in April 2003 its intention to divest certain assets, including Invensys Metering Systems. The sale of the Metering Systems group closed on December 17, 2003 when the company was bought by a private equity group. The Company was renamed Sensus Metering Systems followed on by the previous decade’s success of Sensus Technologies.

Over the last fifteen years, as Sensus Metering Systems developed smart meters and AMR meter integration communication technology, AMDS was developing the very best radio transmitting and receiving equipment using licensed dedicated FCC spectrum. The acquisition of AMDS in July of 2006 married these metering and AMI advancements to produce the Sensus FlexNet fixed base AMI system.

FlexNet boasts the highest level of protection, power and productivity in the industry today. Primary-use licensed communications and an industry leading 2 watts of transmitting power guarantee AMI data delivery.

Sensus Metering Systems currently has 25 locations which are utilized for manufacturing, sales, technology and administration. Of these 25 locations, [9] are located in North America, [8] in Europe, [2] in South America, [3] in Africa and [3] in Asia.