Leafing through the past of the "Meterfabriek", we run through the key issues of the past 150 years: from the gas that lit the town, mechanization, the Saturday afternoons off which the Meterfabriek was one of the first in the Netherlands to introduce in 1906, periods of boom and depression, foreign labour, and take-overs, to the present with globalization of production, and soon, the smart gas meter which will open new horizons. Site manager Pieter Klijs is justifiably proud of the business which has provided work for generations of Dordrechters, at its peak, more than a thousand jobs. Now too, Actaris with its 125 employees, is still one of the medium-sized employers in the town.

Dordrecht and smart metering

With a demonstration model of the smart gas meter in front of him, Klijs looks to the future with confidence. This meter will make it possible to give remote readings that will lead to energy savings and offer the possibility of monthly billing for actual gas delivered, a development which will put an end to advanced payment. This innovative product also makes it possible to disconnect bad payers remotely, to instantly detect fraud, and to take immediate action in any possible defect in the gas supply. The seven million households in the Netherlands should, in accordance with the objectives of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, have such a meter by 2015. The first pilot schemes have already started. The parent company Itron, based in America, is ready with the remote reading of energy meters and is making all its current expertise available. In a global economy, and at a juncture in which there is talk of the finite nature of traditional sources of energy, Actaris too has a future. ‘We are ready for it,’ says Klijs.

Robots - Automation

Taking advantage of opportunitiess, this is the core of companies and the Meterfabriek is a fine example of it. In the middle of the nineteenth century, town gas was a novelty in which Dordrecht pioneers such as Johannes Marinus van der Made and Jan van Breda Sr. could see prospects of a good living. George Heeley, an Englishman from Birmingham is considered to have been the actual founder of what was then called the ‘Gasmeterfabriek’, a company established in the Marienbornstraat. During the first years of its existence the business concentrated on the repair and manufacture of gas meters. Later the manufacture of electricity and water meters followed. The Meterfabriek quickly started collaborating with the Compagnie des Compteurs, a competitor from France. The Roll firm from Gouda also joined the group. In 1892 the first step to mechanization was taken with the installation of a gas engine to power various machines. If you walk through the factory today you will see, for example, four robots which assemble gas pressure regulators automatically, just as in the production of meterbars a welding robot does the lion’s share of the work. “We are part of a worldwide player, so that the lines of decision are longer than you would sometimes wish. Nonetheless we have in the past years made the necessary investment in our machine park. We are after all a genuine business which, in addition to assembly, produces what it needs itself,” says Klijs.

Opportunities

Even within innovative Actaris there is still a corner that is reminiscent of times past. In the production of so-called wet gas meters, old-fashioned craftsmanship is needed and vital parts are soldered by hand from brass. If the ghost of Heeley, the founder and director who died in 1893, still hovers around anywhere, it is here. Because of the rapid growth of production in 1898 the Meterfabriek was forced to move out of the Marienbornstraat to a new site on the Lijnbaan. In 1922 production started of Excelsior vacuum cleaners, a quite separate line of business, which nevertheless continued until 1971 and all to the benefit of the business. Its vacuum cleaners became a household name and were exported to many countries, both inside and outside Europe. Also the production of gas stoves and hobs was taken in hand by the Meterfabriek. Then came the economic crisis of the 1930s and the Second World War. As the factory was part of the French Compagnie des Compteurs, it did not qualify for post-war compensation. Yet the business, like the country and its population, scrambled out of the abyss and in 1962 a new branch was opened in Terneuzen. From then on, the most important parts of the vacuum cleaners were assembled in Zeeland Flanders, a strategic move which was partly inspired by the difficulty of recruiting staff in the Randstad and the limited space on the Lijnbaan.

 In 1970 gas taps were added to the range and Schlumberger acquired a majority of shares in the Compagnie des Compteurs. The consequences were substantial: activities such as gas stoves and vacuum cleaners were abandoned, only components which were part of metering or regulation techniques continued in production.

 In the spring of 1981 a new factory was opened on the present site on the Kamerlingh Onnesweg. In November 2001 the Resource Management Services division of Schlumberger started operating independently as Actaris. Then the Meterfabriek became part of Itron and the preparations for celebrating its 150 years of existence are in full swing. In spite of the weak labour market and worldwide competition Klijs sees plenty of opportunities. “We are at the threshold of an enormous revolution. Smart gas meters and electricity meters will come, with all their consequences. In addition we expect much from developments such as small energy power installations, which will use gas and will end up supplying electricity to the grid, just as solar panels and wind turbines will be able to do. Smart meters are capable of measuring all this accurately. The growing economies in the Far East will increasingly develop into serious competitors. Yet we have every confidence that we can maintain our position in the market. We will win it by our transport costs and by offering more service and by being close to our customers. In our opinion, all of this gives us our most important competitive advantage.”