15 May 2003

The new division will be led by board member John Langston, who becomes group managing director, Detection and Heimann, and relinquishes his responsibility for the Sealing Solutions division.  This responsibility transfers to Einar Lindh, currently board member for the Industrial division, who retains this brief and now becomes group managing director, Specialty Engineering.

John Ferrie and Lawrence Kinet remain responsible for the Aerospace and Medical divisions respectively.

Commenting on the changes, Smiths Group chief executive, Keith Butler-Wheelhouse, said, "Both our Aerospace and the new Detection divisions have built an impetus for growth in the next few years.  Establishing the new division now gives management the opportunity to develop that growth to full potential, while maintaining our focus on customer satisfaction, innovation and disciplined financial management.

Smiths Group has market leading positions in aerospace systems, detection systems, medical devices, mechanical and polymer seals, and interconnect products. For further information, visit www.smiths-group.com

About John Langston