EMH metering celebrates 30th anniversary
From pioneer for digital electricity meters to one of the most important manufacturers for load profile and industrial meters worldwide / Complete portfolio for the German smart meter rollout including certified smart meter gateway CASA / Into the future with new solutions and Industry 4.0
Gallin, 13 July 2021. EMH metering GmbH from Gallin/Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was founded in 1991 by electrical engineer Peter Scheew. Scheew, who comes from Hamburg, had already founded a company for meter testing technology in 1984, EMH Messtechnik GmbH. He decided to enter the emerging market of digital metering and developed one of the world’s first electronic meters in 1989. One year after reunification, he founded EMH Elektrizitätszähler GmbH & Co KG in the East German town of Wittenburg (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania). Scheew and his company were among the pioneers of the new metering technology.
In 2010, the company was renamed EMH metering GmbH & Co KG. In 2012, the company moved to a new, larger site in Gallin – also in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. At a second site in Brackel near Hamburg, 50 experienced specialists work in research and development for new meter technology. Since 2020, EMH metering has also had a sales office in Switzerland. Today, EMH metering is one of the most important manufacturers of load profile and industrial meters worldwide. EMH metering is also the only company that can cater to the entire metering and communication portfolio required by the energy sector – from the FNN base meter to the smart meter gateway and the e-mobility solution.
Over the past three decades, EMH metering has repeatedly laid the foundation for decisive advances in the energy industry. A milestone in the 1990s was the first meter with an integrated load profile memory approved by the Physikalische-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB). The meter was able to store the quarter-hourly values of a complete month. This provided utilities with many times more measurement data than was previously available. This made it possible to develop registered load profile measurement (RLM). This billing method is now standard for offering large consumers individual electricity prices and supplying them optimally. Every second meter used in Germany for load profile measurement is now manufactured in Gallin.
When the development of digital household meters gained momentum at the end of the 1990s, EMH metering added the smart metering business division. Here, too, the company was able to quickly establish itself as a leading provider. Years of developing highly specialised modems for the energy industry provided the company with the necessary experience to offer communication technology – and thus complete measurement systems – in addition to household meters. EMH metering now has the entire device portfolio for the German smart meter rollout. With the CASA smart meter gateway, the company is one of the few manufacturers to offer the gateway certified by the BSI for the smart meter rollout.
Today, EMH metering and its 300 employees produce around 900,000 devices annually at the production site in Gallin. “Made in Germany” is an important trademark of EMH metering and corporate philosophy. The company is currently investing in manufacturing in accordance with Industry 4.0 standards. This enables EMH metering to manufacture individual products under the same conditions as mass-produced goods. EMH metering is now one of the most important industrial employers in the region.
Managing Director Norbert Malek, who has been on board since the company was founded, on EMH metering’s formula for success: “We are consistently guided by the needs of the market and the customers. Creating added value and trying out new things – that is the core motivation of EMH metering. However, this would not be possible without the close cooperation with our partners and customers, some of whom have been with us for many years. We would therefore like to thank them for their trusting cooperation. Heuell adds: “Our sincere thanks also go to our employees who have driven the development of the company over the past 30 years – and who have remained motivated even under the difficult conditions of the coronavirus pandemic.” EMH metering was able to increase its production volume last year despite the coronavirus crisis – the order books are full and we are currently working in three shifts.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company cannot celebrate its anniversary with a party. “We very much regret that we cannot celebrate the occasion together with employees, customers and partners,” emphasises Peter Heuell. To mark the occasion of the anniversary, EMH metering will instead be publishing a company chronicle this year, in which customers, partners and employees will have their say. Historical photos and press reports provide a glimpse into the company’s past. But the focus is also on the future: “With new solutions and device developments for e-mobility, submetering and smart grids, we are equipped for the future.”