Non-Subscriber Extract
West warms to Russian market
By Ben Vogel
29 January 2008
As passenger numbers in Russia's aviation sector continue to rise, Western equipment manufacturers are showing an increasing interest in the Russian airport market.
United States-based Implant Sciences Corporation received its first orders from a Russian airport in September 2007, following formal government approval to market its portable and benchtop explosives detection systems (EDSs) in the country.
Certification of Implant Sciences' Quantum Sniffer handheld QS-H150 and benchtop QS-BTS EDS came after a series of tests conducted by the Russian Ministry of Transportation and was followed by orders (for an undisclosed contract value) of two QS-BTS and one QS-H150 from Aeromash Aviation Security, the security contractor at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow.
"The contract is for three instruments, but with the possibility of many more, because the Russian market for trace detection has not really been tapped like the European and American markets," says John Huey, the sales distribution agent for Implant Sciences in Russia. The Russian aviation sector is experiencing strong growth in passenger numbers, so the demand for security systems is likely to remain significant in the medium to long term.
"Anecdotally, our information was that these instruments performed extremely well," Huey comments. "They [Aeromash Aviation Security] were comparing the results of this to the other instruments they were familiar with on the Russian market and they decided to go with these two instruments."
Phillip Thomas, chief operating officer of Implant Sciences, describes the order as a "milestone", adding that he is confident of further sales in the Russian market: "We believe there is a significant market for explosive trace detection equipment in Russia and with this certification we are now able to broaden our sales and marketing efforts there."
John Huey is general director and part-owner of FTG-Soglasiye LLC, a Russian distribution company (and subsidiary of US parent Security Technology Group LLC) that acts as sales agent for Implant Sciences in Russia and also represents L-3 SafeView, Reveal and Aegis Blast Protection there.
"We went through a long cycle of certification with the Russian Ministry of Transportation to get these two implements certified," he says. "And within a couple of weeks of them being certified, we managed to sell the first instrument [to Sheremetyevo]."