Xtract One has announced that its SafeGateway solution has been installed at the Georgia-based Kia Georgia, one of the largest automotive manufacturing plants in North America.

According to the company, over 9,000 workers are employed at the plant, which produces four models on location: the Telluride SUV, Sorento SUV, Sportage SUV and the K5 sedan.

Therefore, ensuring weapons do not enter the plant is part of Kia’s culture of care and safety for the employees. Previously, they tried manual wanding and other solutions but these approaches proved to be ineffective and added significant delays in getting workers on the shop floor in a reasonable time.

There was also a need to integrate a solution into Kia’s existing operations in a streamlined manner and without disrupting or having to change those operations.

Xtract One says that its SafeGateway was chosen as it fits with Kia’s needs for a solution that detects guns but not other items deemed as a “non-threat”, has the ability to operate outdoors and would fit their footprint for very defined entry structures and fits Kia’s need for functional and aesthetic design using the SafeGateway’s customizable exteriors to complement the over overall look and feel of the entrances.

“We chose Xtract One because they didn’t approach us as a “vendor”. We work with them as partners, knowing they are invested in Kia’s success and trust them to provide the level of security and service we require at this plant. We are so pleased with the SafeGateways that we have already built the cost
into the plans for our new manufacturing facilities that will be three times the size of this location,” said Ryan Smith, Program Manager, Security with Kia Georgia.

“We were also very impressed with the SmartGateway’s ability to adapt to our needs. We had specific benign items like walkie-talkies and tablets that alerted on other systems. The Xtract One team was able to develop signatures to ignore these items and have the system fit our operational needs.”

Since install, KIA has acknowledged that its security operations haven’t changed and have significantly improved. The SafeGateways fit into the business flow and has sped up throughput and manufacturing efficiencies.

Xtract One highlights that SafeGateway’s ability to work in all weather conditions has been tested, continuing to operate when hurricanes were bending over light poles in the parking lot and data centers were experiencing power outages.

Additionally, support requirements have been a positive experience, with Kia reporting to have witnessed exceptional customer service with under five minute response times delivering the support required and questions addressed in a matter of minutes.

“We are so pleased with the SafeGateways that we have already built the cost into the plans for future expansions,” added Smith.