Smiths Detection Wins Second Contract for Advanced Mobile Cargo Screening Equipment in Paraguay

HCVM High-Energy X-ray Screening System Enables the Inspection of Trucks, Exports and Imports

Asuncion, Paraguay, 1 January 2008 - Smiths Detection, part of the global technology business Smiths Group, today announced that the Dirección Nacional de Aduanas de Paraguay has awarded the company a contract for a second high-energy mobile cargo screening system. In August, 2007, the PNC took delivery of its first HCV Mobile system and has successfully deployed the system at border crossings around the country in order to detect contraband and illicit goods in containers, cargo trucks and other vehicles. The second system will be used for similar purposes.

The HCVM provides high performance imaging which enable advanced contraband detection, using high energy X-rays that can penetrate from 210 to 300mm of steel, depending on the model. With an extremely short set-up time, the HCVM can be rapidly deployed at nearly any location in the country and can inspect at least 25 trucks per hour.

“The HCVM is proving to be a very effective tool for customs and border patrol agents, allowing them to maximize their performance of difficult tasks such as detecting contraband.” said Eduardo Parodi, Director of Sales & Marketing, Latin America and the Caribbean. “We are delighted to have been awarded a second contract from the PNC, which in itself shows how well the advanced features of the system are working.” 

In addition to providing the HCVM, Smiths Detection will continue to offer training to customs personnel to maximize their technical capabilities and to ensure peak performance.

The HCVM operates at many key international ports around the globe, including in Chile, Veracruz, Mexico and the Caribbean (Curacao, Barbados), and various ports in the United States. It is used principally in the detection of contraband such as illegal drugs, but increasingly plays a security role, helping the identification of conventional explosives and weapons.


About Smiths Detection
Smiths Detection is part of the global technology business Smiths Group. It offers advanced integrated security solutions for customers in civil and military markets worldwide and is a leading technology developer and manufacturer of sensors that detect and identify explosives, chemical and biological agents, weapons, and contraband. Its advanced technology security solutions also include Smiths Heimann x-ray imaging systems, millimeter-wave technology and a specialist software supply business for the management of large sensor and video surveillance networks. Separate business units focus on related products for the life sciences, and food manufacturing industries. For more information visit www.smithsdetection.com

About Smiths Group
Smiths is a global technology company, listed on the London Stock Exchange. Smiths Group is a world leader in the practical application of advanced technologies. Its products and services make the world safer, healthier and more productive. Smiths Group has three divisions focused on the high growth detection, medical devices, energy and communications markets. It employs more than 20,000 people in over 50 countries. For more information visit www.smiths.com

 

Media Contacts:   

David Olsen 
Coltrin & Associates for Smiths Detection
212-221-1616 ext. 118  
David_Olsen@Coltrin.com

Susan Cooper-Curcio
Smiths Detection
973-830-2131
susan.cooper@smithsdetection.com