J.R.R. Tolkien’s highly acclaimed fantasy novel “The Hobbit” was published in the United Kingdom in 1937. That same year, Trumeter was founded in Manchester, U.K. to provide mechanical-based length measuring equipment for the textile industry. That year was a good start for Tolkien and Trumeter, as both the book and the company have earned enduring praise the world over since that time.
Soon after its founding, Trumeter used its engineering expertise to develop mechanical products to measure cable, rope, timber, carpet and more. A few years later, the company developed electronic products to measure voltage and current and began making counters that used an electronic pulse to monitor and control equipment in a variety of industrial applications.
Since then, the company has continued to build on its strong engineering foundation to develop easy-to-use products that measure, monitor and display critical data in engineering, manufacturing and industrial settings. They also began developing products for automotive lighting, starting with bulb technology and moving to LED. Trumeter lights and touch sense products are used in Jaguars, Audis, Fords, Mercedes Bus, Aston Martin and Range Rover vehicles throughout the world.
Devices to Measure and Control Anything and Everything
Today, Trumeter is a global designer and manufacturer of sophisticated measurement products with leading edge mechanical, electronic, sensing and LED technologies. Its advanced panel meters, control and measurement products, and custom products for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are sold in more than 30 countries. The company is known its excellent service, product innovation and willingness to customize solutions for customers’ specific applications.
“We design and manufacture devices to measure and control anything and everything,” said Fred Hickey, Joint CEO. “We have a wide range of electronic, mechanical and electromechanical products and instruments, and are constantly innovating, changing, evolving and improving. We use leading-edge technologies including Bluetooth, wireless, Modbus, touch sense, ultra-low power management and LED drivers in our products.”
AutomationDirect began selling Trumeter’s graphical panel meters in 2018. The meters measure voltage, current, rate, process or frequency and provide analog meter-style visuals as well as accurate numeric readings – the best of both worlds. Customers can select a variety of options to meet their usage, voltage, current and frequency needs.
The highly accurate meters offer a programmable scale, a wide viewing angle, a large measurement display area, and a programmable four-digit starburst display area for alarms or other information. Finally, the meters have a dynamic display backlight that can be adjusted for brightness, flash or color at a specific measurement range, along with both digital and analogue output options. These high-quality meters also offer the longest warranties in the industry.
Meters Keep Production Running and Engineers Safe
Trumeter’s sophisticated measurement products are used in a multitude of industrial settings throughout the world to ensure equipment is working efficiently and within safe parameters. Field service engineers also rely on Trumeter measurement products to keep them and their equipment safe. For example, they can monitor generators in their vehicles and the voltage being produced and the current being drawn to ensure safety and efficiency. They quickly know if these measurement readings become critical when the meter displays flash from green to red as a warning.
Custom is Our Passion
Trumeter takes great pride in understanding its customers’ very specific application needs and adapting its measurement products to meet those.
“We love being able to tailor our products for customers’ needs,” said John Smith, Executive Chairman. “Custom is our passion. We are experts at designing and producing customized products and solutions that enable our customers to reduce their costs and differentiate their products. Our team thrives on partnering with customers to solve the challenges they face.”
For example, one Trumeter customer who makes energy saving technologies and needed to find ways to help its industrial customers eliminate waste from motor-driven systems. Doing so would reduce energy and maintenance costs as well as carbon emissions. Trumeter worked closely with its customer to learn exactly what needed to be measured and how the meters would be used. Then, it modified its meter controllers and software to meet those specific needs. As a result, Trumeter helped its customer lower its product cost and size, making it easier for its product to be transported and used.
Another Trumeter customer needed help solving a problem in processing raw materials in its quarries in the U.K. moving materials like asphalt, cement, and concrete blocks for the construction industry. Powerful machines clean, crush, sort and process the aggregates. Electric motors drive the machinery and conveyor belts, and many quarries are replacing the standard motors with variable speed drives (VSD). Operators need to monitor how hard those are working to avoid damage and downtime. Trumeter configured its Advanced Panel Meters to work with the VSDs to show the true current reading on the display and bar graph. In addition, the meters’ dynamic backlighting was configured to flash red to alert operators if a current hits a critical level.
A Global Presence
Trumeter employs over 100 highly skilled people in its wholly-owned, highly automated manufacturing facility in Penang in Malaysia. It manufactures millions of products there each year using highly automated surface-mount technology and full spectrum electronic production. It also has sophisticated calibration, test and validation processes which contribute to the company’s reputation for high-quality products. Trumeter also employs more than 50 people in the U.K. and United States, operating sales, marketing, distribution, product development, engineering and service offices in the U.K. and in several cities across the United States.
An Enduring Legacy
Just like the legacy that Tolkien began in “The Hobbit,” the Trumeter story continues to evolve. The company is well positioned to continue helping customers solve their most difficult measurement and monitoring challenges by applying its engineering expertise in new ways and harnessing the power of new inventions and technologies.
“We have focused on innovation, integrity, teamwork and customers since the beginning,” said Stefan Ebert, VP of Marketing. “Our employees love solving problems and are the key to helping our customers be successful, and they take great pride in that. We look forward to using new technologies to develop and manufacture excellent products and services for the long-term.” AutomationDirect is proud to now carry these Trumeter meters which its customers can use and customize to address their measurement and control needs.
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