Updated 01/04/2010 07:11 PM
Local company on front lines in war on terror
The foiled Christmas Day terror attack has renewed calls for greater aviation security at home and abroad and one local company believes they have the solution. Our Neil St. Clair tells us how soon this new generation of baggage scanners might be at your airport.
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ENDICOTT, N.Y. -- As airports at home and abroad look to beef up security, this baggage scanner, the X1000, could be part of the answer, and it's made right here in Endicott.
"It's unique in that the CT medical systems that are currently deployed are borrowed technology from the medical field and rely on density of materials, but ours relies on atomic number," said LeeAnn Levesque, SureScan's general manager, as she gave a tour of the device.
That means greater sensitivity to potentially explosive material, such as the type used during the Christmas Day terror attack.
"Terrorists are always looking for new and innovative ways to do harm. And we think our technology will future-proof," said James McNamara, CEO and President of SureScan and Endicott Interconnect Technologies. SureScan is an EIT spinoff.
Five years in the making, the more than $1 million machines are in the pre-certification stage with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). If approved, they could be deployed both domestically and internationally in a matter of months for all types of baggage.
"One of the things we planned is that we can scale this technology up for full cargo or scale it down for carry-on," said McNamara, who noted that the majority of commercially transported cargo is not scanned at all.
SureScan says their machine is about more than just better detection, it's also about higher throughput, saving costs and time, and possibly, lives.
"The existing incumbents are maybe 300 to 500 bags per hour and ours does 1,000 bags per hour," said McNamara.
More bags checked means shorter security lines, plus greater overseas compliance with TSA regulations. Something SureScan supporter, New York Senator Charles Schumer, believes will help close "gaping holes left in our aviation security system."
The SureScan device is meant for larger airports such as JFK, but Binghamton and other regional outfits could benefit as replaced technology from international hubs trickles down.
If SureScan's machine is certified by the TSA, it could mean more than 300 jobs for the local area. Company officials tell us that will ultimately be determined by the amount of domestic and international orders placed.