Talking Points: Itron's Malcolm Unsworth

Compiled and edited by Leslie D. Helm | November 2010 | FROM THE PRINT EDITION

Credit: Photograph by Dean Davis

When Itron CEO Malcolm Unsworth was invited to meet with President Obama last spring, it was just another sign of how central the company has become in the global effort by utilities, at an estimated cost of $45 billion over the next five years, to use smart gas, electric and water meters to help save energy and water. Those smart meters are an important part of a new effort, centered in eastern Washington, to develop a smart grid, a two-way communications system that should help cut energy consumption while reducing the cost and increase the reliability of the electricity grid.

Education: I did a tool-making apprenticeship in the United Kingdom for five years while going to school one day a week to get an industrial engineering degree. I went to Canada in 1978 and ended up working for Schlumberger’s electric metering business. When the business was sold to Itron in 2004, I joined Itron and was put in charge of electric, gas and water modules for Itron’s North American operation. When Itron acquired Actaris, a global metering company, in 2007 [for $1.7 billion], I went to Europe to run that operation.

International: A significant strength of Itron is that we touch so many customers worldwide. Before we bought Actaris, we had only about 5 percent of our business outside of North America. Today more than half of our business is overseas. We do business in 130 countries in 27 languages. We have 32 manufacturing facilities and 60 sales offices with nearly 1,000 salespeople. We have 9,000 employees worldwide. There are standards in each of these countries. If you are not in those countries you can’t do business.

Automation: North America is still the most advanced in automated metering, and what we sell in North America, we make in the United States. We developed a mobile technology solution that uses radio communications to allow utilities to read meters by just driving by. That helped utilities reduce their cost structure by eliminating meter readers. It also provided consumers with more accurate bills.

Future growth: The big growth is in smart meters, two-way systems that provide information to utilities and consumers on how much gas or electricity is being consumed at different times of the day. With smart meters in place, utilities can create incentives that discourage energy use during peak