Small county contractor helps TSA 'whisper'

A county business won an $11 million contract to help airport-checkpoint officers to better handle the situation when they detect a suspicious passenger.

ACG Systems has developed a way for Transportation Security Administration officers to "whisper" to each other to discreetly respond to a situation and avoid causing a scene at an airport checkpoint.

The Parole-based company announced this month that it won a three-year contract to supply 20,000 TSA officers with radios programmed with roughly eight text messages that communicate phrases from "assistance required" to "person of interest."

It's a contract to help TSA officials meet the requirements of its Whisper Wireless Communication Program.

"They can reach down and send a message that they need help," said Company Vice President Tim Carney.

Carney said his company will start the delivery of these radios to airports in the coming months.

TSA is procuring the technology as part of a new initiative called the Checkpoint Evolution, which is designed to increase the effectiveness of screening at airports.

The contract is a "hometown win" for ACG Systems, which employs 15 people, Carney said.

"We went up against the big boys," he said.

ACG won the award in June, but it was protested by two other bidders, Carney said. But the U.S. Government Accountability Office upheld the award, he said.

When a business like ACG wins a large award, it "paves the path" for other companies to start bidding on bigger projects, said Bob Burdon, president and chief executive officer of the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce.

"I think it shows the ability, that look, smaller businesses and entrepreneurial businesses can break into the big time," he said.

Incorporated in 1995, ACG provides communication equipment for national and regional airlines and government agencies. The company on Defense Highway also employs one person in Colorado Springs where its customer, the U.S. Air Force, is located. ACG also has a small warehouse production facility on Renard Court.

ACG has a long history of supporting the airlines, but has refocused to grow its federal business, Carney said. That shift is paying off with the TSA contract.

"It's a big win, but it's a win on top of what has been a long business-development effort," he said.