PerkinElmer Bomb-Detector Seen Ready Soon, FAA Says (Update1)
(Adds details about explosive detection machines starting in
sixth paragraph.)
Atlantic City, New Jersey, Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- PerkinElmer
Inc., a maker of laboratory instruments, is almost ready to bring
an airport explosive-detection system to the Federal Aviation
Administration for approval, the FAA said.
PerkinElmer would become the third company with an approved
device, said FAA spokeswoman Rebecca Trexler. The agency is
working with the company to try to meet a Congressional deadline
requiring explosive-detection machines in all airports by the end
of next year to allow screening of all checked baggage.
``We're going to do everything humanly possible to meet that
deadline,'' FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said during a news
conference at the Aviation Security Technology Symposium in
Atlantic City, New Jersey, today.
PerkinElmer spokesman Kevin Lorenc said the company has an
``ongoing relationship'' with the FAA and that would be premature
to comment on when the company may have something to announce.
L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. and InVision Technologies
Inc. are the two companies with FAA certification. The FAA is
hoping to partner with other companies that make less expensive,
smaller versions of those currently certified to use in small
airports, Trexler said.
``We're looking for something that costs like $300,000,'' she
said. The machines being used now cost more than $1 million each.
The more expensive machines would be used in airports with
more baggage to search, Trexler said. There are now 142 machines
at 47 of the largest U.S. airports. About 2,000 more systems are
needed to screen all checked bags, the FAA has said.
The FAA has given grants to companies including PerkinElmer
to help develop explosive detection systems, Trexler said.
The shares of PerkinElmer, based in Wellesley, Massachusetts,
fell $1.04 to $27.95 and have declined 47 percent this year.
--J. Kyle Foster in Princeton, (609) 750-4647 or
kfoster2@bloomberg.net, with reporting by Rip Watson in
Washington, through the Chicago newsroom, (312) 692-3720/krm
Story illustration: To chart the performance of the Bloomberg U.S.
Airline Index, see {BUSAIRL <Index> GP D <GO>}. |
