History
From the First Days of Gas Metering: The History of Sensus Metering Systems
1886—In a world of horse-drawn buggies, brass spittoons, and the general store, George Westinghouse opens the Safety Appliance Company to manufacture his inventions, the gas meter and gas regulator. Westinghouse helps pioneer the domestic use of natural gas for cooking and heating.
1895—The Safety Appliance Company changes its name to the Pittsburgh Meter Company and begins large-scale manufacturing of residential meters. Many of today's meters still operate on the same principle, with synthetic diaphragms replacing the original sheepskin.
Late 1890s—Pittsburgh Supply Company opens. This plumbing materials wholesaler makes gas meters, pressure regulators for gas street lamps, and, surprisingly, an early vacuum cleaner and machines that make brooms and flexible conduit. Their meter repair department later becomes Equitable Meter Company.
1900s—James R. Armstrong joins Equitable Meter as a laborer, later becoming chief engineer after developing a new meter in his spare time. An industrious, inventive man, he had financed his trip to Pittsburgh from the West by operating a mule-driven merry-go-round in various towns along the way.
1925—The Mellon family buys the successful Equitable Meter Company and chooses war veteran, MIT graduate, and rising star Colonel Willard F. Rockwell to run their new acquisition. Later that year, Equitable Meter Company reorganizes and becomes the Equitable Meter and Manufacturing Company.
1926—Equitable Meter adopts the EMCO brand name, which gains strong brand recognition throughout North American.
1927—In a gutsy business move, Col. Rockwell, head of Equitable Meter, spearheads the purchase of its larger competitor, Pittsburgh Meter Company, the business George Westinghouse had opened 41 years earlier. By then, Westinghouse’s company had been operating from a state-of-the-art 3-1/2 acre plant in Pittsburgh's Homewood section.
1928—Equitable introduces tin-type residential meters. Production continues for 41 years, with over 4 million units sold.
1930—Chart drives and the Integrator, used to facilitate calculating the total extension of orifice meter charts, are introduced. Over the next 50 years, 300,000 are built.
1932—After repeated attempts to convince Equitable Meter’s principals to acquire Merco-Nordstrom Manufacturing Company, maker of a unique lubricated plug valve and later known as Nordstrom Valves, Col. Rockwell is ready to concede defeat. However, in a chance encounter with principal owner R.B. Mellon in the offices of his Pittsburgh bank, Rockwell passionately makes his case for the Mellon family to finance Equitable Meter's acquisition of the company. Despite the Depression, the deal goes through.
Equitable Meter pioneers volume correction instrumentation with the introduction of the Emcorector.
1936—The Pittsburgh-DuBois Company is formed by L.A. Dixon to manufacture tin gas meters. A facility is leased in DuBois, PA, a small community 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Production begins in December.
Equitable Meter takes on production of beer meters for the recently revived brewing industry.
1938—The Pittsburgh/DuBois company invests in a fleet of tractor-trailers. The trailers are specially built to carry exactly 1000 tin-type residential meters.
1940—Equitable Meter advances gas measurement accuracy with the introduction of meter diaphragms made of synthetic material.
1941—Equitable acquires National Meter Company of Brooklyn, NY. National’s products complement Equitable’s line of liquid meters that measure water and oil-based products.
World War II—Equitable Meter Company and the Pittsburgh-DuBois Company, two firms that would later merge, join the war effort, building aircraft instruments, bomb tail fuses, armor-piercing projectiles, anti-aircraft gun components, and parachute devices—all without profiting.
1945—The war over, Col. Rockwell moves aggressively. Having obtained a large interest in the stock of Equitable Meter, Rockwell acquires Delta Manufacturing, Edward Valve and Manufacturing Company, Cresent Machine Company, and the Monessen Foundry and Machine Company. Strong and diversified, Equitable Meter Company changes its name to Rockwell Manufacturing Company, with Equitable Meter remaining an essential and profitable subsidiary.
1946—Equitable Meter flourishes as a Rockwell subsidiary, reaching the milestone of 600,000 meters manufactured. Col. Rockwell continues to lead with vision, buying Arcade Manufacturing Company, maker of foundry equipment; A.H. Ross Company, maker of packaging machinery; and Ohmer Corporation, maker of taxi meters, fare registers for streetcars, and cash registers. The company has 12 manufacturing plants from Brooklyn, NY, to Oakland, CA; employs 6,000 persons; and has distributors throughout the world.
1947—Col. Rockwell buys the Pittsburgh-DuBois Company, which had been making meters for the Equitable Meter division, and renames it the Pittsburgh-DuBois Division of the Rockwell Manufacturing Company.
1950—Diversified while still focused on mechanical products, Rockwell now employs 7,000 persons in nine states.
1952—Rockwell opens a third plant in DuBois, PA, to accommodate nearly all Rockwell gas meter production. All three plants are later renovated and expanded. Vertical integration of the complete machining and manufacturing processes is now feasible.
1955—Rockwell introduces the first large-capacity cast aluminum meter and the aluminum domestic meter. Because nearly all these Rockwell meters have a removable internal mechanism and a one-piece, single-seal body, the brand becomes immensely popular among users.
A manufacturing facility for domestic meters designed exclusively for Canada is built in Guelph, Ontario.
1958—The end of an era: the final sheepskin leather diaphragm is installed in a new domestic meter.
1960—Rockwell advances the accurate measurement of residential gas consumption in all climates by introducing temperature-compensated domestic meters.
1960s—Rockwell leads the way in using lightweight plastic components in meters, volume correctors, regulators, and instruments. Plastics reduce the effects of friction, extend meter life, speed production, and cut costs.
1961—DuBois becomes the manufacturing hub for all pressure regulation products as production lines are moved there from Ohio.
1962—Rockwell, the pioneer in volume correction, expands the Emcorector line with the Temcorector and the Combined Recorder Gauge (CRG).
1963—Rockwell introduces the Mark I Turbo Meter, the first new large-volume gas measuring device in more than 40 years.
Rockwell buys the Reynolds regulator line, one of the "old line regulator companies."
1964—Rockwell introduces the Roto-Seal Meter rotary meter line.
Rockwell acquires the highly successful Chaplin Fulton line of distribution regulators and safety relief valves.
By 1965, the design of the entire line has been adapted to Rockwell quality standards.
1965—Gas usage more than quintuples in the 20 years since the end of World War II.
1966—A garage is built at the DuBois Plant 1 facility to house the fleet of 20 tractors and 38 trailers.
1967—A field transfer proving device using the Roto-Seal Meter is released for sale.
1968—Equitable introduces a new cold-temperature diaphragm material. Called Type "E", it is used in all Canadian meters.
1969—The end of another metering era: the final tin-type meter is shipped to Baltimore Gas and Electric company. More than 4 million tin meters have been built. At the turn of the new millennium, tin meters are still in operation.
Known simply as the "high pressure loop," the most technologically sophisticated and accurate large-volume, high-pressure meter calibration facility in the world is built at Plant 1 in DuBois. A 500-cubic-foot bell prover, the largest in the world, is also installed at Plant 1.
1973—Rockwell Manufacturing becomes Rockwell International to reflect the growth of the company beyond traditional manufacturing and North American boundaries.
1975—Rockwell completes testing and development of the R-200 domestic meter. By 1989, sales reach 642,000 units. The Mark II Turbo-Meter, the world leader in single rotor turbine measurement, is introduced.
1978—The popular Rockwell R-275 residential gas meter, still in production and popular today, is introduced. The R-275 incorporates numerous advances in residential metering technology.
1980—The 2" and 3" TPL-9 angle-body Turbo-Meter with a lubrication system is introduced.
1981—Rockwell International patents the Auto-Adjust® Turbo-Meter, the first meter that automatically adjusts for changing line conditions and corrects volume output.
1983—The 2" and 3" T-10 Turbo-Meters are introduced.
1985-1988—A $30 million program consolidates multiple manufacturing and administrative operations into the DuBois facilities to take advantage of ample capacity and a superior workforce. Automation of manual and batch processes brings the manufacturing facilities to state-of-the-art levels.
A record-breaking 834,000 residential meters are shipped from Plant 1 in DuBois.
1989—The global engineering company BTR buys the Measurement and Flow Control division of Rockwell International. The company is called Equimeter, a name suggesting the company’s strong heritage that traces back to the original Pittsburgh Equitable Meter Company.
Headquarters for all gas products businesses of the measurement and Flow Control Division are located in DuBois.
1994—The AutoCorector is introduced, an instrument that computes patented algorithms for the Auto-Adjust measurement system to communicate adjusted line volume output. Simultaneously, the EC-3000 volume corrector is introduced. This unit provides corrected volume throughput with event log records and virtually unlimited load survey.
1995—Equimeter leads the purchase of Eurometers, a UK manufacturer of ultrasonic gas meters for residential applications. Eurometers was established in 1993 in response to a British Gas program designed to stimulate the development of new technologies for the a ccurate measurement of residential gas consumption.
By late 1995, Eurometer’s E6 residential meter receives both the prestigious Prince of Wales Award for innovation and the Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award for innovation in engineering.
1996—Equimeter acquires a license to manufacture the Eurometers residential ultrasonic meters for North American markets. Ultrasonic meters are the only new concept in residential metering technology this century that meets the stringent requirements set by North American energy utilities while providing a minimum 20-year life span.
1997—To reduce pollution emissions and improve the topcoat of residential meters, Equimeter invests $1 million into a state-of-the art waterborne paint system. The new topcoat is more durable than the prior solvent-based paint, superior to that of competitors, and requires 40% less paint.
1999—BTR merges with British controls maker Siebe. The resulting global electronics and engineering company is renamed Invensys.
2000—Invensys Energy Metering introduces a full line of Sonix meters for residential and commercial applications. The revolutionary ultrasonic meters feature no moving parts, theft detection, and stable long-term accuracy. The small, aesthetic housing is appealing to upscale homeowners and builders of multi-tenant properties.
2002—Invensys Energy Metering introduces two additional residential style service regulators, the models 043-B and 143-B.
2003—The Jordan Group purchases Energy Metering from Invensys. The new company is named Sensus Metering Systems.