Hexagram Inc. wins fixed-network contract in Louisiana

Hexagram Inc., a subsidiary of ESCO Technologies Inc., is installing its STAR Network automatic meter reading system in Opelousas, Louisiana, replacing hand-held devices to read water meters. Hexagram's fixed-network system will allow the city to upgrade, maintain, and expand water services by locating potential leaks, providing more accurate meter reads, and correlating daily production and consumption data. Hexagram also will offer improved software for billing and customer service...

June 7, 2007

2 min read

BEACHWOOD, OH, June 7, 2007 -- Hexagram Inc., a subsidiary of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE), is installing its STAR® Network automatic meter reading system in Opelousas, Louisiana, replacing hand-held devices to read water meters. Hexagram's fixed-network system will allow the city to upgrade, maintain, and expand water services by locating potential leaks, providing more accurate meter reads, and correlating daily production and consumption data. Hexagram also will offer improved software for billing and customer service.

Opelousas, located about 20 miles north of Lafayette at the center of St. Landry Parish, currently owns and operates its water system for 7600 residents of the city and outlying areas. In addition to installing the STAR Network, the city will replace its present water meters with digital encoder meters from Elster-AMCO Water. Triton Water Technologies was awarded the project-management and installation contracts.

Hexagram's STAR Network system provides a state-of-the-art solution for utilities looking for a dependable, cost-effective way to collect and utilize meter readings. The system employs a series of data collector units (DCUs) distributed throughout the city that collect meter readings on a customer-defined schedule. The DCUs transfer the readings to a network control computer that prepares the data for use in billing and water-management systems. The system will transmit using radio and cellular signals, land lines, fiber-optics, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi networks.

Hexagram Inc., headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is a subsidiary of ESCO Technologies Inc. (NYSE:ESE), and the leading supplier of innovative fixed-network AMR systems to meet the ever-changing needs of municipal and investor-owned utilities. Hexagram's STAR® Network delivers actionable intelligence about customer water, gas, and electric usage and the condition of the meter infrastructure.

ESCO, headquartered in St. Louis, is a proven supplier of special purpose communications systems for electric, gas, and water utilities, including hardware and software to support advanced metering applications. In addition, ESCO provides engineered filtration products to the transportation, healthcare, and process markets worldwide and is the industry leader in RF shielding and EMC test products.

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