Smiths Detection Expands U.S. Manufacture of its Chemical Detectors and Advanced X-Ray Systems

Edgewood, Maryland to Become National Center for Worldwide Sales

Smiths Detection today announces another expansion of its Edgewood, M.D. facility to help supply the U.S. military with its lightweight Joint Chemical Agent Detector (JCAD) and to meet global demand for its advanced x-ray checkpoint scanners.

Serial production has now started at the plant, confirming Edgewood as Smiths Detection's largest fully integrated and Government-certified site in the U.S. The latest expansion of 15,000 square feet helps safeguard local jobs at the plant which has grown from 87,000 to 145,000 square feet in the past two years. The workforce has grown by more than 40 percent over a similar period.

Cherif Rizkalla, President of Security and Inspection, Smiths Detection, said: "We are committed to manufacturing our best-in-class security solutions in the U.S. This expansion will help meet the growing demand by leveraging the employee expertise and state-of-the-art facilities at Edgewood."

Edgewood-based Tim Picciotti, Vice President, Military & Emergency Responders, said: "While continuing as a center of excellence for chemical and biological detection, Edgewood will now take on the same role for advanced X-ray systems that are protecting people, airports and critical infrastructures worldwide."

JCAD is based on Smiths Detection's LCD 3.2e, an advanced, detect-to-warn device that protects troops or emergency responders by sampling the air for chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals. Deployed in airports worldwide, HI-SCAN 6040 aTiX scanners capture multiple views of carry-on baggage in the same throughput time as traditional single view systems.

Smiths Detection's customers in the U.S. include the military, homeland security authorities, customs and emergency responders. The company's Edgewood facility, which employs 215 people, is its main manufacturing plant for a range of CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives) detection systems.

Smiths Detection's other main U.S. sites are in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Virginia. The company is part of the global Smiths Group which employs more than 9,000 people in the United States, its biggest market.