🏭 Sappel – French water‑meter manufacturer Sappel (later Diehl Metering France) is a major, well‑documented water‑meter producer founded in 1906 in Paris as “Paris‑Ignicole” by Salomon Ostrowsky. SAPPEL = Société Alsacienne de Pointeurs et de Poinçonnage Électrique de L’Industrie. Initially manufactured fuel-based lighting systems, not meters. 👉 Shift into water meters By 1932, the company began producing water meters (Aquametro brand). In 1936, it was renamed SAPPEL (Société d’Applications mécaniques et électriques). With expansion and industrial growth the company became a significant French manufacturer of: - domestic water meters - industrial flow meters - later heat and energy meters Its main large‑scale production later moved to Boulogne‑Billancourt and then Saint‑Louis, not Montrouge. Then moved major operations to Saint‑Louis (Alsace) in 1974. 🏷️ Corporate ownership 1982 → joined Compagnie Générale des Eaux (major utility group) 1998 → acquired by German Hydrometer group 2003 → Hydrometer became part of Diehl Group 2014 → renamed Diehl Metering SAS Today: Sappel survives as part of Diehl Metering, a global metering company. 🕰️ History Summary 1906 - Foundation of the Paris-Ignicole company by Salomon Ostrowsky in Paris. The company then manufactured gasoline vapor lighting systems for individuals and railways. 1932 - Start of production of water meters under the "Aquametro" brand in Boulogne-Billancourt. 1936 - Paris-Ignicole becomes Sappel (Société d'APPlications mécaniques et Éectriques) 1974 - Sappel transfers its head office from 40 rue de l'Est in Boulogne to 67 rue du Rhône in Saint-Louis (68). 1982 - Sappel joins the Compagnie Générale des Eaux group. 1998 - Sappel becomes a subsidiary of the German company Hydrometer based in Ansbach near Nuremberg. Birth of the Hydrometer group. 2003 - The Hydrometer Group joins the Diehl Group (an independent family company founded in 1902). 2006 - Sappel celebrates the centenary of its creation[3] - [4] and begins its sustainable development policy by working on the eco-design of its products and by creating a partnership with the association 1001 fontaines[5]. 2008 - The Hydrometer Group becomes the Diehl Metering division of the Diehl Group. Sappel won a trophy awarded by the Ministry of Sustainable Development at the Pollutec exhibition for its Altaïr V4 eco-designed composite meter[6] - [7]. 2009 - Sappel wins the Alsace regional export trophy for its development policy in Spain[8]. 2010 - Sappel wins the 1st trophy for financial management in Alsace[9]. 2014 - On 1 December, Sappel becomes Diehl Metering SAS. All the companies in the Diehl Metering division also took this name during the year The Museum has yet to acquire a Sappel meter for its collection.