Smiths Detection has won three orders from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) worth a combined $58.3 million for three variants of its HCV high-energy X-Ray systems.
The HCV variants selected by CBP are the Mobile, Gantry, which operates and rails, and Pass-through. Smiths did not disclose the value of each individual contract or the numbers of systems being acquired.
For Smiths the award is a larger follow-up to a $23 million contract for HCV Mobile II systems CBP awarded the company nearly two years ago. Smiths didn’t disclose that CBP was the customer for the current or previous award.
Based on the customer’s previous experience with the high-energy X-Ray systems, Smiths has introduced upgrades, including introducing material discrimination capabilities on the HCV Gantry system. In the past the screener would typically see a black and white image but now by color coding organic and inorganic materials it gives them an advantage in looking for illegal substances, Mark Laustra, vice president and general manager of Smiths Detection’s Homeland Security business, tells TR2. The color coding also gives the screener reference points rather than just having to work off the shape of an image, he says.
Another improvement to the HCV systems has been increasing the scanning speeds, which in turn increases throughput. The portals can screen more than 100 vehicles in an hour, Laustra says.
The HCV Mobile systems can penetrate up to 11 inches of steel while the Gantry and Pass-through systems can penetrate up to 15 inches and 16 inches of steel respectively. Smiths says with the detection criteria changing in terms of being able to see more of what’s inside a container without having to conduct a physical inspection, the trend appears to be favoring high-energy X-Ray systems.
In the U.S. CBP is the only customer so far for Smiths high-energy HCV X-Ray systems. The company has also had success selling the systems globally, with sales roughly equal between the U.S. and international markets, company officials say.