The Hangzhou company that turned the humble water meter into a payment terminal - and quietly wired it into 30 countries' utilities.
Hangzhou Laison Technology Co., Ltd. makes smart water and gas meters - and, just as importantly, the software that collects money through them.
Founded in April 2012 inside Zhejiang University's National Science Park, Laison is a high-tech manufacturer that integrates research, production, marketing and after-sales support around one narrow idea: a water meter should do more than count liters. It should be able to bill, report, and be read from a distance.
The company's catalog runs from radio-frequency (RF) card prepaid meters to keypad STS prepaid units, from NB-IoT and LoRaWAN connected meters to static ultrasonic meters with no moving parts, and most recently to a Bluetooth BLE 5.0 meter that can be configured and topped up from a phone. Behind the hardware sits Laison's prepaid vending and meter data management (MDM) software.
Put together, that stack answers a specific and expensive utility problem: getting paid for the water you deliver. In many markets, a large share of treated water is delivered but never billed - lost to leaks, faulty meters, and uncollected accounts. The industry calls it non-revenue water.
Laison's prepaid approach flips the sequence. Instead of chasing payment after the fact, the meter collects credit before a drop flows. For a water authority, that is less a gadget upgrade than a change in cash flow.
Not every drop a utility treats turns into revenue. The gap between what's delivered and what's billed is where prepaid metering earns its keep.
Illustrative split of non-revenue water, not Laison-specific figures. Prepaid billing and leak monitoring target the orange and navy bands.
Each rung solved a real utility problem - from smart-card top-ups to phone-based Bluetooth reads.
Conforms to the Standard Transfer Specification. Tops up by 20-digit keypad code or RF customer card - no internet required.
Since 2012Radio-frequency card meters with stepped-tariff billing, paired with Laison's prepaid management software for water authorities.
Since 2013Connected meters with bi-directional communication for remote reading and full AMR/AMI deployments.
Since 2018Static metering with no moving parts - higher accuracy and lower maintenance for domestic and industrial use.
Since 2020Bluetooth Low Energy meter for short-range configuration, reading and mobile top-up.
Since 2022Prepaid vending, meter data management and leak monitoring - plus LS-series meter test benches and data terminals.
Since 2015Laison sells to water authorities, utilities and infrastructure EPC contractors - not to consumers. That shapes everything: procurement is slow, standards are strict, and accountability is real. A meter that miscounts, or a prepaid system that fails, becomes a public problem.
The company has built its strongest base across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, working with water companies in more than 30 countries and collaborating with large contractors such as Sinohydro Group and China Railway Construction Group on international projects.
Where Laison differs from the biggest Western names - Kamstrup, Itron, Sensus, Diehl - is its focus on prepaid revenue protection and its willingness to ship every major connectivity standard rather than betting on one. For utilities in markets where collection is the hard part, that emphasis matters more than a single flagship radio.
In China's crowded metering field, that positioning has made Laison a recognized benchmark for smart prepaid water meters in the international market.
Laison is established in Zhejiang University National Science Park, focused on smart water and gas metering.
Launches the LXSZ-series stepped-tariff prepaid water meters with management software for water authorities.
Builds out prepaid vending and meter data management systems behind the hardware.
Adds NB-IoT, LoRaWAN and GPRS meters for remote reading and AMR/AMI.
Introduces static ultrasonic water meters with no moving parts.
Releases a Bluetooth Low Energy smart water meter for mobile reading and top-up.
Closes a Series A round (tens of millions RMB) with UBS Electronics reported as investor.
Laison's model is B2B hardware plus software. Revenue comes from selling meters, integrating prepaid and MDM systems, and providing ongoing software and data services - typically through international distribution and direct contracts with utilities and EPC firms.
A roughly 28-person team, led by CEO Raymond Zheng, sits behind an annual output measured in the millions of meters. The engineering depth shows in the breadth of the catalog: mechanical metering, RF and cellular communications, ultrasonic sensing, and the billing software that ties it together.
In the global metering market, Laison occupies the pragmatic middle: more specialized in prepaid revenue protection than a generalist giant, more internationally proven than a purely domestic Chinese vendor. Its LoRa Alliance membership and multi-standard radios keep it interoperable with the networks utilities are already building.
For a water authority weighing how to cut losses and modernize billing, Laison's pitch is narrow and concrete - and that focus is the point.
Product demos and interviews: search "Laison smart water meter" on the manufacturer's channels for STS prepaid and ultrasonic meter walkthroughs. Official demo videos are linked from the product pages on laisongroup.com.