Itron Reaches Major Broad Base Black Empowerment Milestone

Cape Town — 27th October, 2009 — Itron South Africa is pleased to announce that it has reached a major milestone in its empowerment strategy as it received B-BBEE (Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment) Contributor Level 3 Certification on September 15th, 2009.

The South African Government and businesses are cooperating to accelerate the transformation of the economy, which is regulated by the B-BBEE code and facilitated by the B-BBEE certification which enables businesses to measure their progress towards employment equity, skills and social economic development.

The Itron B-BBEE status was independently audited by Emex Trust, a government accredited BEE verification agency. The status grants Itron South Africa the best B-BBEE Procurement Recognition level amongst leaders of the South African Metering Industry.

A key element in achieving this was Itron’s strategy towards broad base empowerment. Through the Itron Employee Share Incentive Scheme, Trust, employees (of which 71% are black and 60% are women) are given access to equity in the company. Trust collectively owns an 18% portion of Itron South Africa, a subsidiary of Itron Inc.

Peter Kgame, Chairman of Itron South Africa, said “In today’s South Africa, the Itron story is exemplary. The company is investing in skills, research and development and manufacturing capacity to export South African technology. It does all of this while providing its employees with business equity, great skills, career development and equal opportunities. It is an example to follow in terms of embracing broad base empowerment, diversity and commitment to realizing South Africa’s potential”.

Itron reaffirmed its social commitment by expanding its manufacturing capacity in Atlantis in order to develop the global Smart Payment business from its Cape Town base and now employs 130 people. The Atlantis employees are mainly women who are the main breadwinners and contributors to the community. Itron also created many jobs by setting up a global R&D Center in Metering Products and Systems which now employs over 60 engineers, and expanding its Professional Services unit, with nearly 100 staff based at Itron's Plattekloof Headquarters.

Christophe Viarnaud, Managing Director of Itron Southern & Eastern Africa says “To receive this Level 3 B-BBEE certification just weeks after being awarded the internationally recognized BEST Employers TM accreditation is a fantastic achievement for Itron. We are extremely proud that our commitment to South Africa, and the Western Cape in particular, and our continuous strive towards empowerment, employment equity and community support are being recognized. We are confident that our employees in South Africa are the best to work with and we look forward to contributing to South Africa realizing its full potential in terms of skills upliftment, and economic and social development”.