Elster Invests In Joint Venture With Jiangxi Sanchuan Water Meter Company Limited

ESSEN, Germany, Dec. 21, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Elster (NYSE: ELT) announced today that the company has signed a joint venture agreement with Jiangxi Sanchuan Water Meter Company Limited to produce and supply C&I water meters to the Chinese water industry. Elster will have a 55 percent stake in the joint venture.

With this investment, Elster will introduce advanced C&I water metering technology into China, the world's largest water meter market by units. Elster has been at the forefront of innovation in bulk water metering technology for many years, being the first company to introduce an in-line version of the C&I combination water meter.  

Jiangxi Sanchuan Water Meter Company Limited, with its range of mechanical and electronic water metering products and accessories, has developed into one of China's leading water meter companies. In March 2010, the company gained recognition for being the first in the water meter industry to be registered on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

With a clear focus on quality and innovation, Sanchuan holds both ISO 9000: 2000 Quality Management certification and ISO10012:2003 Measurement Management certification and boasts 22 invention patents, mainly for residential water meters. In 2009, Sanchuan produced 4.7 million residential water meters from its two major production facilities in China, one in Jiangxi, the other in Shandong.

"Sanchuan are pleased to have signed a joint venture agreement with Elster. With their extensive knowledge of bulk metering technology, our aim is to become a leading company in the C&I water meter sector in China," said Qiangzu Li, general manager of Sanchuan.

"We are delighted to have entered into a joint venture agreement with Jiangxi Sanchuan Water Meter Company Limited. They have developed into one of China's leading water meter companies with an extensive distribution channel in mainland China," commented Jerry Lauzze, executive vice president of Elster's global water business.

About Elster

Elster (NYSE: ELT) is one of the world's largest electricity, gas and water measurement and control providers. Our offerings include distribution monitoring and control, advanced smart metering, demand response, networking and software solutions, and numerous related communications and services – key components for enabling consumer choice, operational efficiency and conservation. Our products and solutions are widely used by utilities in the traditional and emerging Smart Grid markets.

Elster has one of the most extensive installed revenue measurement bases in the world, with more than 200 million metering devices deployed over the course of the last 10 years. It sells its products and services in more than 130 countries across electricity, gas, water and multi-utility applications for residential, commercial and industrial, and transmission and distribution applications.

For more information about Elster, please visit www.elster.com.

SOURCE Elster