A Lithuanian Smart Water Meter Maker Lays the First Stone of a 29.5 Million Euro Factory in Paredes, Promising 200 Jobs

Axioma Metering, a Lithuanian maker of digital water meters, laid the first stone on Friday of a factory in Paredes, in the Porto district, that is to cost about 29.5 million euros and create about 200 jobs. The plant, in the Lordelo industrial park, will make water and thermal energy meters based on ultrasonic technology, Paredes town council said in a statement.

It is the company's first step into manufacturing outside Lithuania, where its activity is concentrated, according to the business newspaper Jornal de Negócios.

What is being built

• Investment: about 29.5 million euros.
• Jobs: about 200 direct posts in the first phase, half of them for highly qualified staff, the council says.
• Size: two construction phases, adding up to about 13,000 square metres, with a production and storage hall, engineering and administration areas and social spaces for workers.
• Builder: the Britoli group.

The announcement did not give an opening date for either phase.

Why ultrasonic meters

Traditional water meters measure flow with a small turbine or piston that turns as water passes through. Ultrasonic meters have no moving parts: they time sound pulses sent through the water to work out how fast it flows. Because they can be read remotely, they are central to the move by water utilities towards fully digital networks, in which leaks can be spotted sooner and bills based on actual readings rather than estimates. Axioma, founded and led by Ignas Vosylius, specialises in these systems.

For households, the most visible effect of the technology is the end of the meter reader's visit and of the estimated bill. Whether and when a given household gets a smart meter, however, depends on the local water operator, not on where the meters are made.

A furniture town looks for new industry

The mayor of Paredes, Alexandre Almeida, said the council welcomed "with great satisfaction" a company "recognised as one of the pioneers in developing the technology of fully digital water management systems". Paredes is a municipality "known for the large number and quality of its furniture industries", he noted.

"For us it represents the creation of new jobs, but also a bet on technological innovation in the water sector. Diversification with companies that work with universities and employ highly qualified people is very important," he said.

The project adds to a run of foreign industrial investments in the north of Portugal announced this month. Germany's Thyssenkrupp Nucera has picked Vila Nova de Gaia for an electrolyser cell assembly line, and Brazil's WEG aims to quadruple its Santo Tirso motor business by 2035.