TPi September 2015

products & developments Metal and

alloy products G.Rau is a globally active supplier in the field of metal engineering. The company has achieved a degree of specialisation in the highly complex world of metals over the past 130 years. With more than 540 employees, G.Rau is still a family-owned company, with three production sites in Pforzheim, Germany, one in Costa Rica, and a subsidiary in the USA. G.Rau processes and refines more than 200 types of metal and metal alloys into products. The company is an expert in the manufacturing of strips, tubes and wires made of precious metals, special alloys and composite materials, AT&T, IBM and Mueller Water Products have developed a new solution to help cities save water. The solution uses Internet of Things (IoT) technology that can be installed quickly to help cities manage water and prevent leaks. The companies are sharing results from recent trials at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Tech Expo. The trials took place in Atlanta, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Communities everywhere are struggling to save water. Drought, old pipelines and limited funds for new equipment all play a part. Monitoring the water system can prevent large-scale leaks. Cities can get information on the condition of their fire hydrants, underground pipes and drainage systems, which have been difficult to monitor in the past. The solution uses Echologics sensors and sound technology from Mueller Water Products with AT&T’s LTE wireless network to detect water pressure, temperature and leaks. The IBM Water Management Center brings all sources of water data together, to

G.Rau GmbH & Co KG – Germany info@g-rau.com www.g-rau.de

and also uses these pre-materials to manufacture precision parts and complex assemblies.

AT&T helps cities save water with new technology

Valley in 1954. It helped build the city’s water delivery system and now provides water to more than one million people, as well as 40 million visitors to Las Vegas, per year. The district has built more than 4,000 miles of pipeline and a reservoir system that can store up to 900mn gallons of water. LVVWD uses this new solution to manage the water supply pipeline and limit potential water loss. AT&T, IBM and Mueller Water Products have teamed up to prove that IoT technology can help address the issue of water sustainability. The companies have created an enhanced water management solution as part of NIST’s Global City Teams Challenge.

give a complete view of past, present and future performance.

“A typical water pipe leak wastes almost 400,000 gallons of water per year,” said Mike Troiano, vice president, AT&T industrial IoT solutions. “Cities are facing water shortages all over the world and need help identifying issues early to help avoid a catastrophic event. We’re giving communities more visibility into their water supply, and helping them better manage the future operation of their water systems.” Charles Scott, engineering project manager, Las Vegas Valley Water District, commented, “With this new permanent leak monitoring technology, we can now monitor the pipe for small, subsurface leaks, which gives us a better opportunity to fix them before they develop into larger leaks. This reduces our risk, and allows us to focus our maintenance efforts to targeted sections of pipe.” The Las Vegas Valley Water District (LVVWD) is a not-for-profit agency that began providing water to the Las Vegas

AT&T Inc – USA www.att.com

Mueller Water Products – USA www.muellerwaterproducts.com

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Tube Products International September 2015

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