1 (770) 807-7223A local company has joined the fight against terrorism: The Duluth arm of the manufacturing firm PartnerTech, a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of the Swedish firm PartnerTech AB, joined homeland security and defense corporation Isonics to begin producing high-tech devices that can detect up to 60 toxic chemicals and explosives.
"These products will be an important tool for first responders and law enforcement personnel in protecting people from what experts tell us will be the next generation of terrorist attacks," Isonics CEO James Alexander said at an August press conference at PartnerTech, where officials from both companies displayed several new machines. The Lawrenceville-based Slingshot Product Development Group was also on hand as it participated in the design of one of the devices.
According to Isonics vice president Dennis Koehler, the devices could have saved lives in events such as the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995 - when emergency responders could have immediately known the identity of the substance and how to treat the victims.
Had the devices been installed on the Madrid subway in 2004, the bombing in Spain may have been averted completely, Isonics spokespeople add.
"The events of 9/11 are forever branded into our minds," Koehler says. "Those events have changed all our lives one way or another, and the change is permanent. Events in large cities and around the globe again remind us that we must be vigilant against similar attacks here in the United States. We have to protect against the threats you can foresee and those you can't."
The devices intake a small air sample from a suspect item such as a package or a backpack. The molecules from the air sample are then exposed to an ionization source causing them to become electrically charged. These charged particles are then analyzed and identified. If the unit detects a threat, it identifies the substance and displays concentration levels on the unit's LCD screen and triggers an alarm signal for the operator. If programmed, it can also transmit data to warn authorities.
Slingshot is one of the Southeast's leading product design and development organizations. The company's development teams utilize unique and proven strategies to rapidly launch products for clients in a variety of industries, including consumer products, medical, electronics, military/security, automotive, aerospace, toys, and other categories. Slingshot has developed products with dozens of corporate clients including The Coca-Cola Company, Plantronics, Conair, Kimberly Clark, CharBroil and Lockheed, as well as with innovation-based start-ups.
The company offers a full range of product development services including ideation, conceptual design, prototyping, engineering, design for manufacture, packaging and program management. Additionally, sourcing and manufacturer coordination services are offered through Slingshot's Asia office near Shanghai, China.
Slingshot Product Development Group was founded in 2001 by Sam Zaidspiner, President; George Hatzilias, Vice President of Engineering; and Noah McNeely, Vice President of Design.
Founded in 1992, Isonics Corporation is an advanced materials and technology company focused on the development and provision of homeland security products and services and provides silicon wafer reclaim products and services, wafer thinning and silicon-on-insulator wafers for the semiconductor industry.
Based in Golden, Colorado, Isonics and subsidiaries maintain offices in New York and Washington. The Company currently has over 450 U.S. based employees. Isonics is a publicly owned company with its common stock trading under the symbol "ISON.OB" on the OTC Bulletin Board.
