Press releases

Danish utility selects GÖRLITZ for 170,000 smart metering project

The Danish utility company EnergiMidt has awarded a contract for 170,000 smart meters, the intelligent measuring technology will be deployed in its supply area. The control software is designed and produced by GÖRLITZ AG. Automatic acquisition, plausibility check, distribution of the metering data; all is undertaken by the EDW3000 Metering System.

“The energy utility supplier in Denmark has already commenced with the mass rollout of smart metering systems”, reported Dr. Michael Krumpholz, CEO of the Koblenz based GÖRLITZ AG. Whereas projects with the intelligent meters still retain a pilot character in Germany as well as Holland and Switzerland, and tend to concentrate on specific testing areas, Denmark has already made the next move.

 „As supplier, we are fully aware of the responsibility entailed in an operation of such dimensions”, continued Dr. Krumpholz. The acquired skills and experience will also prove invaluable for similar projects in Germany and other countries. This is the second large smart metering project in Denmark for GÖRLITZ, the first was recently contracted by the utility supplier ELRO.

The consortium which composes of the companies Echelon, Eltel and GÖRLITZ will be headed by Eltel Networks OY. In addition to the overall responsibiilty, the Finnish enterprise will also supervise the rollout and installation of the meter technology during the next three years.

The Californian enterprise Echelon have scheduled the fourth quarter of 2008 to begin shipment of the advanced smart metering infrastructure NES ((Networked Energy Services), which includes an open system software, data concentrators and meters.

„Innovative companies such as EnergiMidt and partners like Eltel and Görlitz are at the forefront of moving to the next generation of utility infrastructure,” said Mark Ossel, Echelon’s vice-president of utility sales, Northwest Europe. Such “Smart Grids” are the foundation for helping customers to reduce their carbon emissions and lower their energy costs, and also increase the availability of the electricity grid.

Executive board restructured at Berg GmbH

Koblenz, 10.04.2008 - Berg Energiekontrollsysteme GmbH in Munich, the GÖRLITZ subsidiary which provides energy management solutions and systems for the industrial sector, has reorganised its management structure. The reason for this is to accommodate the rapid growth in industrial business.

The turnover for Berg has consistently increased, it was incorporated in the GÖRLITZ Group in 1980 and the development of sales has increased dramatically in the past few years. This upward trend is demonstrated by the €3.8 mil. trading volume declared for 2005 and the €4.6 mil. which was declared for 2007, the company has forecast a 20 % increase in sales for the current year.

Consequently Berg has expanded its board of management to enable it to respond with greater effectivity. Dipl.-Ing. Thomas Schedl who supervised operations up to now, has been appointed as chief executive officer while Dr. Peter Günther has been appointed as chief technical officer. In 2002 Dr. Günther founded the Heppenheim-based company EBF-Energiecontrolling GmbH, which was taken over by Berg earlier this year. Ludwig Alles, office sales manager and Thomas Stengl, technical manager, have been granted powers of attorney.

GÖRLITZ selected for nationwide metering system in Turkey

Koblenz, 05.03.2008 - GÖRLITZ Austria GmbH has been contracted to install a nationwide meter data monitoring system in Turkey. The GÖRLITZ subsidiary will set up metering points and carry out the necessary installations for the Turkish high-voltage grid operator TEIAS.

Energy delivery and supply points; sub-stations in the grid; high-voltage customers; all are to be read with the data collection system. The primary focus is on municipal energy utility companies. The grid operator TEIAS is preparing for the liberalisation of the energy market which is still in the infancy stage in Turkey. Metering points will be necessary on all delivery and supply points to enable individual customers to be billed accurately. „Our system records energy deliveries from power plants and neighbouring countries and the energy supplies to municipal utilities for distribution”, explained Helmut Ratzenhofer, CEO of GÖRLITZ Austria GmbH.

The technology from GÖRLITZ will not only log data at the metering points but will automatically prepare a data packet which is transmitted to the control station via the Internet. The data transmission will be undertaken by the Skalar, an intelligent communication platform developed by GÖRLITZ. The latest version of the energy data management system EDW3000 together with the module EDW.collector, will be employed at the control station.

GÖRLITZ Group and EBF-Energiecontrolling: Strategic merger for efficient energy management in industry

Koblenz, 27.02.2008 - Berg Energiekontrollsysteme GmbH, a member of the GÖRLITZ Group which provides energy management solutions and systems to industry, has taken over EBF Energiecontrolling GmbH in Heppenheim. A new web-based software generation for industrial customers which is immediately available on the market as Energo plus accompanies the specialists for energy management systems.

To employ energy efficiently in industry, that is the aim of the energy and climate packet (IEKP) issued by the Federal Government and consequently energy management systems are called up to meet this criterion. In the meanwhile the cost trend of that essential element in production, namely energy, has become a critical competitive factor for almost every enterprise. The amalgamation with EBF Energiecontrolling permits Berg GmbH to cater to the demands of its industrial customers for efficient and innovative solutions in this field.

„Our customers can rest assured that the GÖRLITZ Group has already perfected high-end systems and solutions to apply their energy resources more effectively”, confirmed Dr. Michael Krumpholz, CEO at GÖRLITZ AG.

Both parties will profit from the fusion. Berg GmbH has suspended further development of the software system EnerGO and instead will distribute the web-based software for the energy data management from EBF under the name of EnerGO plus. “This is an excellent chance to increase the prospects of our successful self-developed technology in the German and European markets”, stated Dr. Peter Günther with enthusiasm. Dr. Günther founded EBF Energiecontrolling GmbH in 2002.

Dr. Michael Krumpholz nominated as CEO of GÖRLITZ

Koblenz, 25.01.2008 – After three years of successful collaboration with the executive board of GÖRLITZ, Dr. Michael Krumpholz has assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of the company. The founder Martin Görlitz will remain on the board to concentrate on mergers and acquisitions and increase his activities alongside in the Martin Görlitz Foundation.

Dr. Krumpholz, with vast experience in both large corporations and medium-sized businesses, is extremely enthusiastic about the assignment: „To lead a dynamic enterprise in a dynamic market, with a corporate culture that places great value on a sustainable economic development, was always my goal.” He continues: „As a European provider of metering systems and services we are brilliantly placed for the approaching changes in the market. Due to our superior solutions I can state with confidence that we welcome the changes and regard them as a challenge and not as a risk.”

„Energy continues to be more expensive, saving is essential, legal requirements are more comprehensive and contract and delivery conditions will not be any easier”, forecast Martin Görlitz. „They are strong arguments which underline the reason why more advanced IT solutions are needed in the energy sector. The number of concurring market drivers means significant opportunities and tasks for which GÖRLITZ must prepare with an excellently qualified management. The re-appointment of Ralf Hoffmann in the executive board of GÖRLITZ is the first step, the second is Dr. Krumpholz assuming leadership of the company”, summarised Martin Görlitz. He himself is happy to pass over the reins after 30 years to the capable Dr. Krumpholz.

GÖRLITZ nominated as finalist in technology competition „E-Energy“

Koblenz, 18.01.08 – GÖRLITZ AG has advanced to the finals in the technology competition “E-Energy” organised by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi)in Germany. The company, as member of a consortium, is one of the twelve finalists in the competition with the leitmotif “E-Energy: ICT-based energy system of the future”.

The fundamental idea of deCide is to create greater transparency for carbon emissions in Germany. A communication structure for the energy grid must be developed to inform consumers about their energy consumption and the ensuing CO2 emissions. “It would expedite the liberalisation in the electricity market, generate new energy products and tariff structures, reinforce the position of the individual market players and ultimately lead to saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions”, stated Ralf Hoffman, member of the board at GÖRLITZ AG.

Five other parties participated with GÖRLITZ in the deCide project, Siemens, in.power, Vodafone Group R&D and TU Dresden. The DREWAG - Stadtwerke Dresden GmbH assumed the role of project coordinator for the consortium. A further aim of the consortium is to contribute to the provision of energy, by improving the chances of integrating a decentralised generation plant with little or no CO2 emissions.

The federal ministry plans with “E-Energy” to sponsor selected R&D activities in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT)resident in the electricity industry value chain, which spans the generation of electricty, grid operations, distribution and consumption.

The final date of application was October 5th 2007 and around 30 contestants, in the form of consortiums, submitted proposals. From the twelve finalists nominated, maximum five will be chosen for sponsoring over a period of 4 years with funds of up to €40 mil. The winners will be announced at the CEBIT 2008 in Hannover on March 4th by Michael Glos, Minister for Economics and Technology.

About the consortium: 

GÖRLITZ AG and HYDROMETER partner in smart metering

Koblenz/Ansbach, 14.01.2008 – The Koblenz company GÖRLITZ AG and HYDROMETER GmbH in Ansbach have signed a strategical partnership in smart metering applications and solutions. The aim of the cooperation is to develop a high-performance system for the automated collection of metering data from energy meters in all sectors. Such a system will provide investment security for customers, who comprise primarily of energy utility companies.

Ralf Hoffmann is one of the founding members of GÖRLITZ AG and has remained active for the past 20 years. He was a driving force as marketing director and during the early Nineties contributed decisively to the company’s progress in the market for metering solutions. He was appointed to the board in 1998 where he continued to consolidate GÖRLITZ’s position but unfortunately, due to ill-health, he was forced to take extended leave.

Hoffmann restructured the GÖRLITZ subsidiary EuroDCS Energiedaten AG together with fellow board member Olaf Siegel in 2005. In less than two years EuroDCS advanced to a profitable metering service provider with ongoing projects at such customers as E.ON, Nuon, Dong, Vattenfall and Shell Energy.

Executive board of GÖRLITZ AG welcomes back Ralf Hoffmann

Koblenz, 12.12.2007 – Another strategic thinker on the GÖRLITZ AG executive board to assist in meeting the demands of the growing metering market in Germany. Ralf Hoffmann will resume his place in the board of directors on January 1st 2008 and will be responsible for the business development and strategy of the Koblenz company.

Ralf Hoffmann is one of the founding members of GÖRLITZ AG and has remained active for the past 20 years. He was a driving force as marketing director and during the early Nineties contributed decisively to the company’s progress in the market for metering solutions. He was appointed to the board in 1998 where he continued to consolidate GÖRLITZ’s position but unfortunately, due to ill-health, he was forced to take extended leave.

Hoffmann restructured the GÖRLITZ subsidiary EuroDCS Energiedaten AG together with fellow board member Olaf Siegel in 2005. In less than two years EuroDCS advanced to a profitable metering service provider with ongoing projects at such customers as E.ON, Nuon, Dong, Vattenfall and Shell Energy.

EMETRION IQ integrable in control stations from ITF-EDV Fröschl

A driver is now available to implement the intelligent electricity meter EMETRION IQ from GÖRLITZ AG in the energy data processing systems from the software provider ITF-EDV Fröschl in Walderbach.

"An innovative meter concept is only successful if it can be seamlessly integrated in an existing control station system", expressed Dr. Michael Krumpholz, COO at GÖRLITZ AG. Excellent prospects therefore for the EMETRION IQ which with the appropriate driver, can be integrated not only in the energy data management system EDW3000 from GÖRLITZ, but also in the platform ZFA/200-F from ITF-EDV.

It is irrelevant if the electricity meter is transparently read in the classic "Pull" operation via a dialling connection or if the energy data are transmitted via GPRS by IP Telemetry. Mobile data collection can be executed with Bluetooth® technology enabling energy data to be requested via PDAs with the operating systems PC2002 and PC2003.
Register values, load profiles and logbooks; all can be read thanks to the functionality of the device driver. The date and time are not only read, but can also be set. Local communication via Bluetooth® is child's play with the new tool IQ.viewer for notebooks. Moreover the data are always concisely displayed in user-friendly fashion.
GÖRLITZ AG has honoured its claim again to design process-oriented products and solutions that are multi-vendor capable. "Interoperability is the order of the day in liberalised energy markets", emphasised Dr. Krumpholz. This strongly influenced the development of the EMETRION IQ, it combines the exact measuring of energy consumption with IP-based remote reading.

The innovative device provides 96 load profile values daily as a result of the error-free handling of date and time. The meter unit is isolated from the communication unit so that the communication adapter can be customised, renewed or reconfigured without a metrological intervention. An OBEX interface guarantees smooth communication between both modules. The EMETRION IQ applies secure global IP communication protocols for remote readings. The open standards enables the device to adapt to every infrastructure.

Approval for EMETRION IQ

Koblenz, 13.06.2007 – As the first device from the next generation of IP-based real time meters the EMETRION IQ has been granted approval by the Physikalisch-Technischen Bundesanstalt (PTB). The transducer meter can at last be implemented publicly.

It is well worth waiting for, over 2 years were spent in its development and then the lengthy approval process, the PTB seal of approval is the fitting conclusion. "It is the first metering device on the market to combine the exact measuring of energy consumption with IP-based remote reading", stated Dr. Michael Krumpholz, COO and vice-chairman of the board at GÖRLITZ AG.

In the course of harmonising standards for metering and calibration, the special intelligent meter holds two approvals. Since October 2006 new electricity meters launched on the market are subject not only to German calibration laws, but also to the European Measuring Instruments Directive; consequently the EMETRION IQ possesses the authorisation to measure active energy in compliance with the MID. [DE-07-MI003-PTB002] In addition the device has also approval to measure reactive energy and record load profile data as stipulated by the national metrological regulations. [20.15.06.08]

The outstanding feature of the new meter is the error-free handling of the date and time, this in turn leads to exactly 96 values each day. The collected data are always complete. The metering kernel and the communication unit are isolated from each other thereby permitting the communication adapter to be customised, renewed or reconfigured without metrological intervention. An OBEX interface guarantees the smooth inter-operation of both modules. The EMETRION IQ applies safe global IP communication standards for a remote retrieval.

The metering device is designed for use by customers with special contracts. "Energy utilities can be assured that the design and construction of the EMETRION IQ conform to the national metrological regulations and the European directives", expressed Dr. Krumpholz with pride. "The electricity meter meets the expectations of its accuracy class and ensures that the acquired data can be 100% fully and exactly mapped in subsequent systems."

RheinEnergie embraces cutting-edge technology
for automatic meter reading

Koblenz, 22.02.2007 – An intelligent multi-function meter for a standard metering point to enable seamless integration in a contemporary metering process. The EMETRION IQ from the company GÖRLITZ AG opens the floodgates to the world of IP-based remote reading. The first device has been accepted by the RheinEnergie for a test run.

"The EMETRION IQ clearly indicates the direction which German energy utilities must take; process integration and IP communication", commented Mr. ir. Luc Schetters, director of Meter Service Management at RheinEnergie Köln AG. In an almost ceremonial manner, he accepted the innovative transducer meters for the indirect measuring of energy consumption from Dr. Michael Krumpholz, COO at GÖRLITZ AG. They are to be employed in the future for the remote reading of special contract customers.

The rugged device, developed within 28 months in collaboration with potential users, concentrates on the tasks of a standard metering point:

· Measurement of active and reactive energy
· Storage of data in load profile series
· Daily data communication to control station
· Display on-site as a calibrated metering instrument
· Constant synchronisation of the time through the communication network

The communication module and the metrological movement are isolated from each other for practical reasons and are reactionless. This is particularly favourable in that the communication unit can be easily exchanged without interference to the calibration. An OBEX interface secures a smooth operation of both modules. The EMETRION IQ applies safe global IP communication standards for a remote retrieval. The data are outputted in XML format.

The open standards assure that the meter can be customised to every infrastructure. Another highlight of the EMETRION IQ is its total accuracy when recording load profiles. This is vouched for by a highly-precise internal real time clock, it insures that exactly 96 values are delivered daily without error.

"The customary combination today of VDEW meter, IEC-1107 protocol and GSM transparent operation will soon be replaced by an electricity meter with an integrated communication unit." stated Mr. Schetters with conviction. "The EMETRION IQ is a significant milestone on the road to the new era." As soon as PTB approval for the EMETRION IQ which is expected in April 2007 is granted, the meter will be implemented by the first special contract customers.

GÖRLITZ AG expands to Denmark

Koblenz(HO) GÖRLITZ AG has extended its operations to Scandinavia. The Koblenz company overtook the Danish metering specialist LUKIA AB and as majority shareholder, will develop it as a sales office for the southern Scandinavian area.

The relevant contracts were signed by both companies at the end of 2006. The general manager of LUKIA AB, Jannik Munk, spoke of „a decisive step for his company” and forsees excellent chances for the joint product in Denmark. LUKIA is already familiar to the majority of Danish utility companies with its AMR software MAC2000.

„Our European operations will be considerably enhanced by our presence in Denmark”, prophesised Ralf Hoffmann, VP Business Development, when explaining the reason behind the acquisition. „The range of products from GÖRLITZ and the expertise it has demonstrated for solutions in central and southern European countries are the base for the expansion of the success into the Scandinavian markets. There is currently great activity here in the area of SMART Metering. The new GÖRLITZ products EDW3000, EMETRION IQ und the AMM System EMETRION NET will be the essential milestones in the next few years in the Danish market”, stated Mr. Hoffmann.

About GÖRLITZ AG:
The company is a leading manufacturer of AMR and energy information management systems which retrieve energy data and supply qualified metering data for billing systems. Over 800 European customers in industry and the energy economy use the devices and software from the company in Koblenz to log, transmit and bill the data for the supply and consumption of energy data. In addition to Denmark, the GÖRLITZ Group comprises of subsidiaries in Switzerland, Austria and Italy. Other valued members of the group are EuroDCS Energiedaten AG, a data service provider situated in Koblenz and Berg GmbH which caters to the industrial sector and is located near Munich. The group is not listed on the stock exchange and with 150 members of staff has an annual turnover of over 20 million euro.

Kontakt:
PR agency Conosco
Susanne Baumann    
E-Mail: baumann@conosco.de
Telephone: 0211/16025-81         
Fax: 0211/1640484           

GÖRLITZ AG
Ralf Gerhard Hoffmann
E-Mail: ralf.hoffmann@goerlitz.com
Telephone: 0261/9285-0
Fax: 0261/9285-190

Echelon and GÖRLITZ establish partnership for European utility solutions

GÖRLITZ to integrate Echelon's NES advanced metering system into their European metering market solutions

BERLIN, GERMANY– September 28th, 2004
– Today, at the Metering Europe 2004 utility event, Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ: ELON) and GÖRLITZ AG announced that the companies have signed an agreement under which GÖRLITZ will base its system offering for the residential metering market on Echelon’s networked energy services (NES) system. GÖRLITZ is a leading supplier of automatic remote reading, data transmission, and data gathering and preparation systems for utilities serving the European commercial and industrial sector. More than 350 European utilities in fourteen countries have installed control systems and devices from GÖRLITZ. This new agreement marks GÖRLITZ’s entrance into the residential metering market.