Scott Swanson
Of The New Era
White’s Electronics may have found its latest treasure trove.
The company, which has been making metal detectors for hobbyists and treasure hunters for close to 50 years, is now breaking into the security field and has produced a line of hand-held and walk-through metal detectors for airports, sporting events and other public security needs.
Whites’s employees were introduced to the future Thursday when they were treated to lunch and got a look at the new hand-held Matrix line of metal detectors the company has developed in the last year and a half. The bottom line is that company officials expect their business to double with the diversification.
Tom Scrivner, manager of White’s Electronics Security Division, said the company decided to branch into the security business, which currently has four other main competitors, and hired him from Texas to run the operation. Scrivner, former science and math teacher, had experience in the field after founding Ranger Security Detectors, a firm that specialized in security scanners, following his retirement as assistant superintendent of schools in El Paso, Texas.
Since his arrival, White’s has set up a system of distributors and has developed walk-through, hand-held and a couple of specialty security scanners.
The company has already provided security scanners for the past two NBA All-Star games and has a contract to provide security for next year’s All-Star game and for the next two NFL Super Bowls. White’s has also provided security equipment for President Bush on “nine or 10” occasions and for Mexican President Vicente Fox.
A prototype of its walk-through security scanner is scheduled to go into use in the Mexico City airport in late April. In the next few months, the company plans to add chemical and radioactivity detectors to its walk-through scanners to help protect against dirty bombs.
Scrivner said the company has applied for four patents and intends to file for five more in the near future.
The Matrix 100, which was on display for employees on Thursday, is the only hand-held detector in the world that meets or exceeds standards set by the National Institute of Justice, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Safety Administration, he said.
It is designed to be used in airports, schools, correctional facilities, concerts, sporting events and other public and private buildings and events.
The scanner can be adjusted to, for instance, ignore rebar in the floor when it is used to scan shoes. It also has an earbud so an operator can use an earphone for such purposes as scanning sleeping prisoners for contraband, Scrivner said,
White’s also has developed what it calls the Shoe Weapons Inspection System, which checks for weapons and metal in shoes.
“The FAA liked it so much, they gave it an acronym – SWIS – in 30 minutes,” he said. “We’re ready to put it to market.”
The company also has a non-invasive body cavity search machine in the works that is being developed in response to requests from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The device can search anal, vaginal, oral and nasal cavities for weapons or other contraband, he said.
Scrivner said the company appreciates the help it’s received from Rep. Peter DeFazio in making federal agencies aware of its new products.
“DeFazio really has been instrumental in paving the way for this product,” he said of the hand-held scanner.
Though manufacturing of the new products has yet to begin, the company expects to begin expanding its workforce, which currently numbers 132, “within the next month,” Scrivner said. It has already enlarged its manufacturing facilities to more than a quarter-million square feet to accommodate its manufacturing plans.
“It will double our gross volumes and double the size of the company,” Scrivner said.