Kamstrup’s smart metering solutions are revolutionizing the utility industry and promoting sustainability
Driven by the belief that everyone should have access to clean water and a sustainable energy future, Kamstrup offers smart metering solutions that help utilities and societies to reduce water loss and increase energy efficiency. With more than 70 years of experience, the Danish company is at the forefront of global technological advancement in the field of intelligent metering for water, electricity and heat/cool solutions. Its dedicated team is always striving to discover, design, and deliver the most innovative metering solutions and product ranges, including hardware, software, and services such as consumption meters, communication infrastructure, meter data management systems, smart grid applications, hosted solutions, and data analysis tools. One of its fastest growing markets is in North America where Kamstrup is focused on smart metering solutions for the water industry. Bruce Bharat, Country Manager and Vice President for Kamstrup’s North America division, provides key facts regarding the company’s background and future trajectory.
“Headquartered in Denmark for the past 77 years, Kamstrup started our operation in North America in 2013 and will be celebrating our 12th birthday in January 2025. When we first entered the North American market, we started out with a team of five people in a small office space, trying to figure out the needs of this location. At the time, North America was the largest market outside of China, with a heavy demand for automated technologies. Indeed, there are eight million to nine million meters being added or replaced in the marketplace every year, making North America a very attractive proposition in terms of automation and growth opportunities. Thus, we established a small office in the Danish Embassy near Atlanta. Since then, we have grown significantly. We began manufacturing products in the US in 2018 which involved moving out of the Embassy into a larger 30,000 square foot facility. Most recently, we expanded again, building out a 150,000 square foot state of the art manufacturing plant that also houses our North American headquarters,” he shares.
Leak detection accuracy
Alongside facility expansions came the development of Kamstrup’s industry-leading range of products and services. “Back in 2013, we did not have many products that were an exact fit for the North American market. However, after years of innovation and growth, we now offer a full line of solid-state or static meters for residential, commercial, and industrial applications, all with advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) automation. We differentiate ourselves in the marketplace through our unique portfolio of solid-state, ultrasonic meters. Additionally, we have leveraged the technology inside of our meter to help utilities find leaks. In 2020, Kamstrup introduced the flowIQ 2200 residential meter with embedded acoustic leak detection. This meter uses the same ultrasonic technology developed to measure flow for the purpose of listening for leaks. These meters help utilities find leaks in their distribution network before the meter. With the software and technology that we offer, utilities can monitor their entire distribution infrastructure for leaks remotely. Moreover, with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the technology learns from user input, making leak detection capabilities increasingly robust. Our customers report that 90 percent of suspected leaks, flagged by our technology, are confirmed. Compare that to 50 percent with traditional technologies,” Bruce says.
It is evident from this statement that Kamstrup understands the importance of cutting-edge technologies in guaranteeing the quality of its products and improving operational efficiency. Bruce discusses the technologies, automation, and strategies being implemented at the company’s US facility. “Our factory is highly automated and across Kamstrup globally, we currently have about 150 robots assisting in the manufacturing of our products and ensuring their durability. The automation and the rigorous quality checks we perform allow us to provide the most robust products in the industry, and even internationally. In fact, our global return rate is just half a percent. In North America, our return rate is just a quarter of a percent, which is even lower than that of smartphones, a testament to the high quality of our products. Our solutions are also designed to last for 20 years, which is ten times longer than the lifespan of a typical smartphone. This is largely due to our automation and the fact that we fully test every product before it leaves our facility, a practice that is not always followed by our competitors. As a result, we are able to catch and address any issues before they become problems for our customers.”
Reducing carbon impact
In line with its commitment to promoting access to clean water and a sustainable energy future, Kamstrup places sustainability at the heart of its operations.
“Denmark boasts some of the lowest water loss in the world, with minimally treated groundwater being the norm. To achieve our mission of delivering clean water to as many people as possible, we help utilities reduce their own water loss. By using our ultrasonic meters and embedded acoustic leak detection, we are able to help utilities reduce water loss, which has a positive impact on sustainability. Not only is water loss a waste of natural resources, it has an impact on carbon emissions. In fact, The International Water Association has recently released an algorithm correlating water loss reduction with lower carbon footprints.
“To support sustainability, Kamstrup is focused on solutions to ensure that all sourced and treated water is delivered to the consumer. We are also looking into the carbon footprint of our products. One of our most popular products is our composite meter, and we are currently gathering metrics relating to its carbon footprint compared to that of traditional brass or steel metal meters to emphasize its environmental benefits. In the meantime, I can confidently say that the process of creating our meter has a lower carbon footprint than that of a mechanical meter. With environmental, social, and governance (ESG) becoming increasingly regulated in the EU, we follow all relevant guidelines and take a proactive approach to reducing our carbon impact. In our US factory, we have adopted electrical vehicles, charging stations, LED lights, and are taking other steps to lower our carbon footprint. We are also working with our supply chain to become more robust in how we deliver our products, from packaging to optimized shipping,” Bruce ends.
Through visionary smart metering solutions, Kamstrup helps utilities conserve precious water and energy, making it a key player in promoting sustainability.