By Mike Demos, OpExChange Coordinator for the SCMEP
In early September, the OpExChange held a plant tour at Itron’s West Union facility, giving members an inside look at how the company is shaping the future of energy and resource management. Itron’s mission is to “create a more resourceful world.” Their focus is on transforming how communities manage energy, water, and city services through a mix of hardware, software, and analytics. The company serves over 8,000 customers in 100+ countries, with more than 100 million managed endpoints. Globally, Itron has over 5,000 employees and generated $2.4 billion in revenue last year.
Itron’s solutions span electricity, gas, and water metering. The West Union site pioneered the Centron® meter in 1998 – the first solid-state electricity meter designed for mass residential deployment. It was groundbreaking for its scalability, modular design, and adaptability, and set the standard for modern metering. Since then, the portfolio has expanded with the OpenWay Centron® smart meters, polyphase systems, Intelis® gas meters, and a suite of battery powered devices. The plant itself, a 317,000-square-foot facility, also houses significant R&D and marketing capabilities alongside production.
Innovation at Itron is not just in the products. Their software uses artificial intelligence to manage power surges – such as when large numbers of electric vehicles plug in at once – helping utilities avoid transformer overloads. With energy demand shifting toward renewables and natural gas, their solutions are critical in ensuring future grid resilience.
Lean Transformation and Continuous Improvement
The West Union site is rebooting its lean transformation, centralizing all North American operations into this facility. The current focus is on stability and reliability, the base of the Toyota Production System “house.” A new tiered process, called the Itron Production System (IPS), is being developed to elevate visibility around quality, safety, and production concerns.
Data collection and analytics are a major enabler of improvement. Information from more than 1,000 stations feeds into centralized databases, with Power BI dashboards visualizing everything from cycle times to first-pass yield. These dashboards aren’t passive – they actively send alerts when performance drifts, empowering engineers and technicians to act quickly. A June case study was shared highlighting how monitoring a vision inspection process led to yield improvements even as production volumes rose.
On the floor, visual management is everywhere. Monitors track hourly progress against goals, fostering a culture of accountability and problem-solving. Operators typically work to an 80% standard efficiency target, which is progressively raised as processes stabilize and improve.
The Tour: Technology in Action
SwitchMet: Single-Phase Meter Base Assembly
The first stop, the SwitchMet line, was a showcase of advanced automation. Installed in 2009 by ATS Automation, this racetrack-style line assembles the metrology base for residential electric meters. It performs 20 sequential processes – from laser etching IDs to hi-pot testing – and can output 540 units per hour with only two operators. Compared to the semi-automated lines, which require seven operators to build just 100 units per hour, the SwitchMet line delivers a 35-fold productivity improvement. Flexibility is built in too, as the line can produce nearly all Centron® II single-phase bases.
Single-Phase Meter Final Assembly – AutoCells
Next, we toured the automated meter assembly lines. Three lines – AutoCells 1, 2, and 3 – complete the full single-phase meter, integrating display and communication components. Robots equipped with vision systems perform precise component placement and testing, with operators handling targeted manual tasks. The third line, commissioned in 2021, features multi-task robots that provide greater flexibility. This automation strategy has reduced labor content by more than half while maintaining high consistency and throughput of 250 units per hour.
Intelis® Gas Meter Assembly
The Intelis® gas meter assembly line was a standout highlight. Compact, lightweight, and with no moving parts, the Intelis® is the most compact gas meter design in North America, weighing only 4.35 pounds. This makes it easier to ship, store, and install while maintaining durability. It also carries the highest intrinsic safety rating – Class I, Division 1 – and delivers reliable solid-state accuracy within ±0.5% at room temperature. The assembly line itself reflects lean thinking and advanced automation – robots and vision systems work seamlessly with operators in a single-piece flow.
Visitors were especially struck by the overhead conveyor transporting meters across the aisle, a clever example of space utilization. A fully automated inspection station – designed in-house – as demonstrated Itron’s engineering depth, using a robot arm and camera system to confirm every detail, from bolt presence to barcode quality.
Battery-Powered Devices
Another highlight of the tour was Itron’s Battery-Powered Device (BPD) operations. Ten assembly lines for both high- and low-volume BPDs were relocated from Waseca, Minnesota, to West Union, South Carolina – an impressive transition completed in just a year and a half.
The West Union facility now produces a range of these devices, including the 100G/500G, 100W/500W, and 500GC/500WC product families. These compact, battery-powered modules are critical to Itron’s global solutions, enabling utilities to collect meter data reliably without the need for continuous external power. Designed for long service life – often approaching two decades in the field – they support essential applications in gas, water, and electric metering.
The consolidation of B.P.D. production in West Union underscores Itron’s confidence in the site as a center of excellence, while also expanding its role in supporting smart utility infrastructure across North America.
People and Facility Investment
Beyond technology, Itron continues to invest in its people and facility. Over 100 internal promotions were made in the past year, and employee engagement efforts range from food trucks to service awards. Facility improvements have included $6 million in upgrades, with parking lots, renovated canteen areas, and a new roof underway.
Ultimately, the West Union plant is defined not only by its innovation and global reach but also by the dedication of its people. The low turnover, long tenures, and personal commitment of employees ensure that this site will continue to thrive as both a community anchor and a global technology leader.
About Itron
Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) is a global leader in energy, water, and smart city management solutions. The company partners with utilities and municipalities worldwide to improve resource efficiency and grid resilience through advanced hardware, software, and data analytics. Serving more than 8,000 customers in over 100 countries, Itron has deployed more than 100 million endpoints across electricity, gas, water, and smart city applications. Headquartered in Liberty Lake, Washington, Itron employs over 5,000 people globally and generated $2.4 billion in revenue last year. https://na.itron.com/
About OpExChange
The OpExChange, a program of the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP), is the only peer-to-peer network of manufacturers and distributors across South Carolina. For over 23 years, this collaborative group has helped member companies improve performance through benchmarking, best practice sharing, and collective learning. Member companies regularly host site visits and events, offering real-world examples of industrial automation, lean manufacturing initiatives, workforce engagement, and leadership development. It is an invaluable resource for South Carolina manufacturers seeking to learn from others on similar operational excellence journeys.
If your company is interested in joining this collaborative effort to strengthen both your operation and South Carolina’s manufacturing community, reach out to Mike Demos at mdemos@scmep.org. Visit www.OpExChange.com for more information on joining and a list of upcoming plant visits.
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