Cargo inspection equipment is in increasing demand, required as much to detect contraband as for preventing terrorism. Customs authorities in Israel, Japan, Latvia, New Zealand and Russia, as well as the port of Marseilles in France, ordered systems in the year. The Chinese Aviation Authority ordered x-ray systems to inspect baggage and freight, while both Frankfurt and Hamburg airports placed substantial orders for checked-baggage inspection systems.

In military markets, the UK Ministry of Defence and US Department of Defense placed large orders for chemical agent detectors. An emerging market for equipment is the 'First Responders', the emergency services who need to know the nature of the threat they are dealing with when attending an incident.

INVESTING IN TECHNOLOGY
Smiths Detection continues to invest in acquiring and developing the technologies required to reinforce our market leadership. Acquisitions have expanded our range of technologies, while internal research and development is aimed primarily at introducing further improvements to our existing systems through, for example, integrating trace and x-ray technologies within a single device.

The acquisitions of SensIR Technologies and Cyrano Sciences, Inc. have respectively added infrared-based analysers and miniature chemical vapour identification sensors to our product range. An agreement was signed with TeraView, a technology and product development company, to co-develop a next-generation, hand-held security wand that identifies metallic and non-metallic weapons, as well as explosives. Internal research and development is accelerating, with spending up by over 40% year on year.

Smiths Detection is now a powerful international brand, following its establishment as a stand-alone division with a single global management structure on 1 August 2003. The four businesses from which it was formed have been integrated, key growth markets have been identified and a strong development strategy has been mapped out.