Big Name Companies Participate In Olympic Security

Aug 19, 2008 2:55 PM

China is spending some $6.5 billion on security for the Games, and much of that has gone to foreigners. But given the sensitive nature of those contracts, involved companies are often reluctant to discuss what they are doing or how much they are making. "We want to avoid answering sensitive questions," says a staffer in the Beijing office of Panasonic, which has sold surveillance cameras for use at the Games.

That doesn't mean these companies haven't been aggressive in courting business. General Electric, IBM, Honeywell, Siemens, Panasonic and LG have all won major contracts providing security technology for the Olympics—one of the biggest security-business opportunities ever, and a shot at lots of ongoing business for those that get in early. The Chinese are laying out more than four times the $1.5 billion that Athens spent on security in 2004, says the Security Industry Association, a Washington trade group.

According to Business Week, the hefty increase is due in part to the immense size of the 2008 Games. Beijing alone has 31 Olympic venues, six other cities will play host to soccer, equestrian events and sailing and 10,000 athletes, 30,000 journalists and more than 80 heads of state are in attendance.

Foreign companies are a big part of the safety equation. Nearly 90 percent of the security equipment used directly in Olympic venues will be supplied by foreigners, the Security Industry Association estimates. Honeywell Security has sold intrusion detectors and surveillance cameras for use at more than 10 Olympic venues, including a $20 million contract for the Bird's Nest stadium, the centerpiece of the Beijing Olympics. Panasonic has provided some 2,000 surveillance cameras for the National Convention Center, site of the fencing competitions and the press center. Siemens sold more than $7 million worth of building-automation and security-control systems for the National Aquatics Center. And an IBM product called Smart Surveillance System, or S3, helps authorities keep track of images from some of the 300,000 video cameras watching for potential troublemakers on the streets of the capital, IDG News Service reported in December.

Segway, the maker of two-wheeled, electric-powered scooters, has sold more than 100 of the $5,300 transporters for use at the Games. Many of these will be manned by police and other security-agency personnel.

GE technology is installed in 22 venues, and it has 150 technicians on hand in case of breakdowns during the Games. At the Beijing airport the company has supplied seven detection systems that sniff the air for particles indicating that a passerby might be carrying a bomb or drugs. And the newly built subway line No. 10, which skirts the Olympic Village, is using GE video-surveillance devices. All told, 168 buildings in the capital have GE security equipment, and the company recently won the entire security contract for the new headquarters of national broadcaster CCTV, built in part as a showcase for the Olympics.

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