The State of Illinois has selected Polimatrix, Inc., to supply upwards of 20,000 pager style radiation detection and identification devices that will be used by law enforcement officers and first responders across the state.
The four-year award is potentially the largest such contract in the U.S. for radiation detection devices at the state and local level.
Polimatrix’ win was a surprise and came over several other companies including RAE Systems [RAE], which some analysts had considered the front runner for the award. RAE has protested the award.
If the protest is denied, financial terms of the contract must still be negotiated between Polimatrix and the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS), which represents the various local agencies in the state and helps prepare them for emergencies by testing and purchasing equipment. How many of Polimatrix’ PM1703MO-1 radiation detection systems ILEAS eventually purchases will depend on the money available through Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grants, Ken Swails, the technology program manager for ILEAS, tells TR2.
Ultimately the contract is worth “millions of dollars,” Martin Erim, Polimatrix’ CEO, tells TR2. The award will be the largest for the company, he says. Erim wouldn’t estimate what the exact value of the contract might but says the fact that ILEAS went through a year-long, robust and exhaustive field testing program before selecting the PM1703MO-1 over other offerings opens the possibility that neighboring states might purchase the same device.
Illinois has nuclear power plants, which means trucks are transporting materials to and from these plants from outside of the state at times, so nearby states also have a possible need for radiation detection devices, Erim says.
Erim believes the pending contract will propel Polimatrix to the level of other major players in the portable radiation detection business.
Polimatrix is a majority owned subsidiary of Homeland Security Capital Corp. [HOMS], which acquires firms in the homeland security industry and is focused on creating long-term value. Homeland Security Capital’s business plan calls for acquiring emerging firms that are generating sales but face challenges scaling up to capture opportunities.
Some of Polimatrix’ customers for other pager style radiation detection devices include the Coast Guard, New York and Boston Police Departments, the Secret Service, and commercial customers like financial institutions, Erim says. Polimatrix is the U.S. based marketing and operations provider for Polimaster, which develops and manufactures radiation detection technology and systems. Polimaster is the minority owner in Polimatrix.
The Illinois procurement will allow all the local public safety responders throughout Illinois to have the same equipment, which keeps them on the “same page,” Swails says.
The new pager, which was custom developed for the ILEAS competition, will be primarily for alerting to radiological materials that could be used in a dirty bomb. The device will have gamma ray identification capabilities although confirmation would be done using a secondary device.