1 Product Description: Flow meter such as water meter is measuring equipment used to measure the volume of fluid that passes through a pipe. The flow meters considered in this project idea are those that are mainly used for measuring the flow of water. Water meters are mainly used in water distribution system such as municipal water pipes. The use of water meter (or flow meter) in each household, and factory, commercial and other buildings not only permit an accurate recording of the actual volume of water used by the consuming unit, but also helps in efficient utilization and conservation of water.
2 Market Potential: The demand for water flow meter is related with the expansion of piped water supply, which in turn depends on the rate of urbanization in a given country. About 15 percent of the populations (11.25 million) of Ethiopia live in "urban" areas. With 5 people in a family, about 2.25 million families are "urban" residents. In ideal situation, each urban family could be provided with piped water which means there will be a water flow meter for each family. Total units of water flow meters for urban families in the country would be close to 2.25 million. If we add another 25 percent for other water consuming bodies in the urban areas such as schools, hospitals, hotels, etc, the overall total of water flow meters will be 2.76 million units. This is the potential national demand for water flow meters. However, not all urban families in the country are provided with piped water. Probably only 70-80 percent use piped water. Even those with piped water do not all have water flow meters for each family. For example in 1994, only 140,000 families (out of 440,000) had water flow meters in Addis Ababa. This was only 30 percent of the total family units in the city. The figure is much lower in other urban centers. But during the last 10 years, infrastructures in utilities (power, water supply, telephone, etc) have been expanding in almost all parts of the country. The expansion of piped water systems will require the installation of water flow meters for the efficient use of the water and effective revenue collection. This means that the demand for water flow meters will increase to match the existing and future piped water distribution systems. Unsatisfied demand for the gadget is more than one million units. To meet this unsatisfied demand, 100,000 units have to be either produced at home or be imported. If local production is competitive both in quality and price, there is a big captive market for water flow meters in the country.
3 Source of Raw Materials: The main raw materials/components required include bronze brass and phosphoric copper, PBB bar, PBB wire stainless steel, ebonite and fibers ABS, AS, POM and PE plastics, paint and adhesive, varnish and register liquid.
4 Process and Technology: The process of manufacturing water flow meters involves producing parts and components (Produced in foundry, machine shop and plastic moulding shop), assembling of parts, inspection and testing of the assembled units, painting, final inspection and packing. The parts produced in the foundry are the main case and the upper case. After the castings of these parts are made, they are machined in the machine shop. Other metal parts are also produced in the machine shop which can also produce different parts to be used for different purposes. The inner parts of the water meter which are made from plastics are produced in the plastic moulding shop. After the production of the various parts, the upper case and its inner parts are assembled together in the assembly shop to obtain the final product. Water meters produced in this manner are then inspected and tested. The meters meeting the test requirements are painted and packed. There are about 31 types of machinery and equipment needed for the plant. These machines are grouped into foundry, machining, plastic moulding assembly and testing and inspection shops.
5 Estimated Investment: For a plant which can produce 30,000 units per year (280 days and 8 hours per day) the estimated investment will be:-
Ø Building/Shade 2600m2 at Birr 1500/m2 = Birr 3,900,000
Ø Machinery ......................................... = Birr 25,000,000
Ø Working capital ................................... = Birr 1,000,000 Total = Birr 29,900,000
6 Benefits: Similar to other projects
Location: Combolcha, Bahir Dar.