company traded as lse smin industry engineering founded 1851 ; 165 years ago 1851 london founder samuel smith headquarters london united kingdom area served worldwide key people sir george w. buckley chairman andrew reynolds smith ceo products detection sensors mechanical seals wet seals and dry gas seals couplings hydrodynamic bearings filtration systems medical devices electronic components heating and ducting systems revenue 2 897 million 2015 1 operating income 394 million 2015 1 net income 248 million 2015 1 number of employees 23 000 2016 2 subsidiaries john crane inc. website smiths group.com smiths group plc lse smin is a british multinational diversified engineering business headquartered in london united kingdom . it has operations in over 50 countries and employs around 23 550 staff . smiths group has five divisions . smiths detection is the world s largest manufacturer of sensors for the detection of explosives weapons chemical agents biohazards narcotics and contraband . 3 4 john crane is a manufacturer of seals and associated products for the process industries . 4 smiths medical is a manufacturer and supplier of specialty medical devices and equipment . 4 smiths interconnect is a manufacturer of electronic and radio frequency components . 4 flex tek is a supplier of components to heat and move fluids and gases . 4 smiths group is listed on the london stock exchange and is a constituent of the ftse 100 index . contents 1 history 1.1 s smith & sons 1.2 first half of 20th century 1.3 second half of 20th century 1.4 21st century 2 operations 2.1 smiths detection 2.2 smiths medical 2.3 john crane 3 management 3.1 andrew reynolds smith 4 references 5 external links history edit s smith & sons edit this remained the business s name from foundation until 1967 . this watch chronometer and instrument makers business was established by samuel smith in london in 1851 . their premises were in the strand and they were watchmakers to the admiralty . retailing and wholesaling of smiths branded motor accessories was added in 1904 when a watford supplier turned out smith s first speedometer the perfect speed indicator . growth was fast . smiths began to manufacture some of their own motor products particularly speedometers . from mid 1913 all motor accessories activities were carried out from handsome purpose built premises at speedometer house 179 185 great portland street motor row . the premises in the strand became a lyons tearoom but jewellers establishments were retained at trafalgar square and 68 piccadilly . by this time motor accessories production included smiths multiple jet carburettors designed by trier & martin lighting sets headlamps sidelights tail lights dynamo and electric starters generators and the smith s auto clear mechanical horn . 5 the outbreak of war in 1914 led to the capture of markets around the world previously held by the german competition . by 1915 new war office contracts for aeroplane accessories lighting sets etc. and munitions required the speedy erection of a new freehold factory . the new factory known as cricklewood works was built at cricklewood north london . 6 in 1921 great portland street activities were moved to cricklewood following 1920 s purchase of the former metallurgique works alongside their cricklewood works . 7 post world war i their accessories became standard fittings in new cars all provided by the manufacturer . 8 first half of 20th century edit speedometer 1903 at the start of the 20th century the age of the early automobiles smith & sons produced the first british odometer mileometer and speedometer . 9 in the 1930s smiths agreed a trading deal with lucas whereby the two would not compete in certain areas and lucas took on part of smiths non instrumentation assets . smiths became the dominant supplier of instruments to british motorcar and motorcycle firms . these later 20th century instruments carried a distinctive logo the word smiths centred above the middle of the dial and silk screened onto it in a unique house font familiar to generations of drivers . 10 the klg sparking plug distribution rights were purchased from kenelm lee guinness in 1919 . the british jaeger instrument company was purchased in 1927 as was the klg sparking plug company robinhood engineering . 11 the jackall hydraulic jacking system was manufactured from 1935 by smith s jacking systems and immediately became standard equipment in many popular cars . in 1937 a separate aircraft and marine department was created in the parent company and named smiths aircraft instruments . it operated with smiths subsidiary henry hughes and son manufacturers of aircraft and marine instruments . 12 in 1946 smiths and the ingersoll watch company founded the anglo celtic watch co. ltd. which produced watches in wales . this became one of the largest producers of watches in europe before closing in 1980 . 13 second half of 20th century edit separate smiths aviation and smiths marine divisions were set up in 1958 . 9 in 1960 an industrial division was formed whose main operations were industrial instrumentation . 9 with increasing diversification and international operations the name smiths industries ltd. was adopted in 1967 . clocks watches and automotive instruments eventually ceased to be significant markets for smiths 9 and by the 1980s the automotive instrument division had been sold 9 first to lucas and eventually to the factory employees . the new company caerbont automotive instruments continues to produce classic smiths branded instruments with the blessing of smiths group plc. 14 21st century edit the company s name was changed to smiths group plc on 30 november 2000 15 and on 4 december smiths completed a merger with ti group . ti had interests in aerospace industrial seals and automotive parts . 16 however smiths divested ti automotive shortly after the merger . 17 in 2007 ge aviation a division of general electric acquired smith s aerospace subsidiary smiths aerospace for us 4.8 billion . 18 in september 2011 smiths group acquired the united states based power technology enterprise power holdings inc. for 145 million . 19 it was announced on 21 april 2016 that smiths group will be acquiring morpho detection llc a us based subsidiary of safran as part of smiths detection division . 20 operations edit cardinal place head office of smiths group following an enterprise wide restructuring programme in mid 2008 smiths group is organised into five separate divisions namely smiths detection edit smiths detection designs and manufactures sensors that detect and identify explosives weapons chemical agents biohazards nuclear and radioactive material narcotics and contraband . these sensors are widely used in airports cargo screening at ports and borders in government buildings and other critical infrastructure as well as by the military and emergency responder services . they use a wide range of technologies including x ray trace detection millimetre wave infra red biological detection and diagnostics . smiths medical edit smiths medical makes specialty medical devices for infusion therapy vascular access and vital care and other specialty products and services . their devices are found in hospital emergency home and specialty care environments and are used during critical and intensive care surgery post operative care and for support in managing chronic illness . the division has operations in 30 countries concentrated in the us uk mexico italy germany czech republic and china sales to 120 countries and approximately 8 000 employees globally . the us is currently the division s largest market with approximately 45 % of sales . john crane edit john crane provides products and services for the major process industries including the oil and gas power generation chemical pharmaceutical pulp and paper and mining sectors . products include wet seals gas seals couplings seal support systems specialist filtration systems hydrodynamic bearings and equipment for upstream applications . management edit andrew reynolds smith edit in 2015 smiths appointed andrew reynolds smith its ceo . smith replaced philip bowman . immediately before joining smiths smith was ceo of gkn automotive . he started work at gkn in 2002 . he has worked in senior management at ingersoll rand siebe . and delpi automotive systems . 21 references edit a b c annual report 2015 pdf . smiths group . retrieved 15 april 2016 . about smiths group . smiths group . retrieved 15 march 2016 . pirone sabine 28 september 2011 . smiths profit holds steady amid constrained markets . bloomberg . retrieved 28 september 2011 . a b c d e dealtalk medical bid may herald long awaited smiths break up . reuters . 18 january 2011 . retrieved 28 september 2011 . prospectus . s. smith & sons limited . the times tuesday jul 21 1914 ; pg . 20 ; issue 40581 s. smith & sons motor accessories limited . the times thursday sep 09 1915 ; pg . 11 ; issue 40955 s. smith & sons m.a. ltd. the times friday feb 25 1921 ; pg . 9 ; issue 42654 company results . the times thursday nov 26 1931 ; pg . 21 ; issue 45990 a b c d e smiths history . smiths medical.com . retrieved 19 april 2011 . gibgo12 . re smiths speedometer font . britbike forum . morgan johansson . retrieved 13 january 2015 . s. smith and sons motor accessories . the times friday dec 09 1927 ; pg . 23 ; issue 44760 s. smith & sons motor accessories . the times friday nov 19 1937 ; pg . 24 ; issue 47846 anglo celtic watch co. ltd. 1 . e comservices . caerbont automotive instruments . caigauge.com . retrieved 19 april 2011 . proposed merger of smiths industries plc smiths industries and ti group business wire 17 november 2000 engineering rivals to merge . bbc news . 18 september 2000 . retrieved 25 september 2006 . ti group plans to sell off auto suppliers dead link smiths agrees to aerospace sale . singer j. the wall street journal . 15 january 2007 . smiths group buys specialist us power provider for 145m . this is money . 2 september 2011 . retrieved 12 july 2012 . smiths group to boost security business with purchase from safran . wall r. the wall street journal . 21 april 2016 . 1 external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to smiths instruments . companies portal official website v t e smiths group subsidiaries john crane inc. smiths aerospace ti group people samuel smith v t e ftse 100 companies of the united kingdom ftse 250 3i admiral group anglo american antofagasta ashtead group associated british foods astrazeneca aviva bae systems bhp billiton bp babcock international barclays barratt developments british american tobacco british land bt group bunzl burberry capita carnival centrica coca cola hbc compass group crh croda international dcc diageo direct line group dixons carphone easyjet experian fresnillo gkn glaxosmithkline glencore hammerson hargreaves lansdown hikma pharmaceuticals hsbc imperial brands informa intercontinental hotels group international airlines group intertek intu properties itv johnson matthey kingfisher land securities group legal & general lloyds banking group london stock exchange group marks & spencer mediclinic international merlin entertainments micro focus international mondi morrisons national grid next old mutual paddy power betfair pearson persimmon polymetal international provident prudential randgold resources royal bank of scotland reckitt benckiser relx group rio tinto group rolls royce royal dutch shell royal mail rsa insurance group sage group j sainsbury schroders severn trent shire sky smith & nephew smiths group sse standard chartered standard life st. james s place taylor wimpey tesco travis perkins tui unilever united utilities vodafone whitbread wolseley worldpay wpp retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title smiths group & oldid 738477857 categories companies established in 1851aerospace companies of the united kingdomcompanies based in londonvehicle manufacture in londondefunct watchmaking companiescompanies listed on the london stock exchange1851 establishments in englandhidden categories all articles with dead external linksarticles with dead external links from april 2011use dmy dates from april 2011pages using infobox company with unsupported parameterscommons category